


Morning Has Broken

by NAOA



Category: Avengers (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Baseball, Brainwashing, Child Abuse, Child Soldiers, Childhood, Childhood Trauma, Cute, Cute Kids, Day At The Beach, Family, Feels, Friendship, Gen, Hurt Clint Barton, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Independence, Kid Fic, Kid Natasha Romanov, Kidnapping, Magic, Nightmares, Past Child Abuse, Red Room (Marvel), Rescue, Rescue Missions, Trust, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 41,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22190659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NAOA/pseuds/NAOA
Summary: A cursed artifact reduces Natasha to a six year old and while the Avengers struggle to take care of a child she struggles to learn how to be an ordinary girl.
Comments: 23
Kudos: 115





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was my second deaged fic and also second for the Avengers, it was originally written in 2015. I think it turned out a little more complex than the one I wrote for Hawkeye. 
> 
> From Original- Since we don't have much yet from the movie universe I'm gonna go with Natasha's comic origin, she's a kid in the 1950s in this so she's a little time displaced and other than that I think this story is going to be a little more complex, this one is going to try and deal with what it means to be a kid and how to be a kid, we all know Natasha didn't get the chance to be a kid so this is her shot.

It was a complete accident. A simple miscalculation and a cursed object. Natasha and Thor had gone to investigate a museum piece that had been found glowing at night. After looking at a brochure Thor had declared that it was Asgardian and should be removed from the museum a all costs.

"The Enchantress's work I would wager." He said knowingly as he and Natasha met the museum staff. "Enchanted and dropped to Midgard. Her intent was to cause trouble no doubt."

Natasha carefully placed the object into a box and closed the lid. "Do you know what it does?" She asked.

"Nay but I am sure it can be nothing good." He said.

They returned to Avengers Tower to lock the object away but as they reached the elevator Natasha noticed the box growing hot. She carefully lifted the lid and saw that the object inside was glowing. "Thor, the relic is-" And with a sudden chill she noticed that the glow was spreading to her fingers. She quickly dropped the box but it was too late. An eeiry green glow was spreading up her wrists.

Thor snapped the box shut with his foot and turned to see her now almost completely engulfed in the glow. Trapped inside the elevator he pushed for a stop button and quickly opened the door. "We must get you out of here!" He said, worry over taking him. He had no idea what the enchantress's spell would do and from the glow it had completely overtaken Natasha. She looked up at him wide eyed but he knew better than to touch her. Suddenly she began to shrink and she looked at him in horror as he grew taller and she became smaller until she was only a few feet high and she collapsed.

The glow vanished and Thor was left with a miniature version of his team mate. She could not have been more than a few years old. With the green glow gone he scooped her up and carried her carefully up the stairs to the med lab and asked JARVIS urgently to alert the others.

Bruce was the first to arrive and quickly stopped, eyes wide. "What happened?" He asked.

Thor pointed to the box on the counter. "Twas an enchanted object. She touched it and it changed her."

"Natsha?"

Thor looked down at the girl, now wrapped in a blanket. "Indeed. I was unable to prevent it."

Bruce began quickly checking the girl's pulse, heart beat and temperature. "No fever, no arrhythmia. She's not in any immediate danger. Not that I can tell anyway." They looked at each other seriously.

"I will take the item to Asguard as soon as she awakens." Thor said, looking down. Natasha was lying with her mouth slightly open and her hair haloing her head. "Perhaps there I can find some answers to it's nature."

Bruce put his hands in his pockets and sat back. "Please do. In the mean time I'll contact anyone who might be able to fix this situation."

Thor took a seat. "I will wait here until she awakes. She may be scared when she does."

Bruce nodded and it was then that Natasha stirred. She winced slightly and made a small noise. Both men stiffened and waited. Her eyes opened and stared up at the ceiling for a moment before looking around at them. She said something in Russian and sat up. Both Bruce and Thor looked at each other, neither one speaking Russian.

She wrapped the blanket around herself like a towel and spoke again. When they did nothing she narrowed her eyes and tried one more time.

"Do you speak English?" Bruce asked hesitantly.

She fixed her attention on him and nodded. "I speak English." She said, her voice wavering with a strong accent.

"Can you tell me your name?"

She stared at him. "You are American."

"I am."

She looked at Thor who crossed his arms. "Do you recognize us?"

She shook her head. "Where am I?"

Bruce hesitated Worried about how she would react. "Can you tell me your name."

"Natalia Romanova."

"Natalia, my name is Bruce Banner. This is Thor. You are in New York City."

Her eyes grew wide. "How did I get here?"

He frowned. "You were in an accident."

Her eyebrows came together in worry. "Was I hurt?"

"No but for a while you're going to have to stay here with us."

She stayed quiet for a moment and then nodded. "I will be well behaved."

Bruce smiled a little. "We wouldn't expect anything else from you. Would you like to come up and watch television?"

She wrinkled her brow a little. "Television?"

"Yeah, whatever you want to watch."

She looked at him curiously and nodded, clutching the blanket to her as he lead her out of the room. "What will be on the television?"

He looked down at her. "Um, I don't know."

He set her up in the living room with a kids program but she didn't watch it. "This is for children. Not for me." She said solemnly.

He glanced at Thor and switched to a nature documentary. "Educational better?" She nodded and fixed her gaze on the screen.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go and call someone." He said, nodding at Thor.

Out in the hall Bruce pulled out his cellphone and dialed Steve.

"Hello?"

"Steve, there's been an accident. Natasha was caught up in a kind of curse. She's been turned into a child. I need you back here as soon as possible."

There was a pause on the other end as Steve tried to process the information. "U-Um, is she alright?"

"Well, she's healthy yes but no I wouldn't say she's alright. She's watching television currently. Wouldn't watch a kids' show, I had to put on a nature documentary."

"But she's not hurt or anything?"

"No. I checked everything. She's fine physically but she's also a little girl and I'm not sure I would call that fine."

"I'll head back as soon as I can. I'm almost done here anyway."

"Alright, Thanks."

Bruce glanced back into the room where Thor and Natasha both sat watching the television. She was sitting stiffly, her back straight and her attention fixed on the screen.

He took a deep breath ans stepped back into the room. "Natasha?"

She looked up. "My name is Natalia."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Please don't be offended if I call you Natasha. It's just a slip up."

She looked at him with wide, intelligent eyes before nodding. "You may call me that."

He smiled a little. "Natalia, you're going to be staying here for a while. Will you be okay with that?"

"I am not ready to start a mission." She said.

"This isn't a mission. . . this is. . . this is a reward for good behavior."

She cocked her head and he saw suddenly that she looked proud. "I am being rewarded?"

"Um. . . yes. Would you like anything to eat?" He didn't want her to think too much on it.

She gave him a considering look and nodded.

He went and grabbed her an apple, the first thing he could find on short notice. She thanked him and sat quietly while she ate.

"Natasha, A few of my friends live here and are going to be back soon, I don't want to alarm you."

She nodded quietly and chewed her apple.

"How old are you?" Bruce asked curiously.

"I am six." She said.

"Ah, you seem very grown up for your age."

She paused and again he thought he saw pride cross her face. Perhaps she knew how impressive she was.

Bruce stepped back out and made another phone call. This time he dialed Clint. "Hey, I know you're on your way back to the tower. Do you think you could run to the store before you get here?"

Clint groaned on the other end. "Yeah, what do you need?"

"Clothes that would fit a six year old girl."

"You wanna tell me something?" Clint asked jokingly.

"There was an accident. Natasha was involved."

There came a pause. "What do you mean."

And Bruce recounted the whole story from start to finish. "And that's why I need you to get the clothes."

"Oh my God. Natasha is a kid?" Clint panicked.

"Look, calm down. Everything is stable on this end. She's watching TV but she's also wearing a blanket so we need clothes."

Clint got a hold of himself. "Okay. Okay. I can do it. Um, anything you think she'd like?"

There was a pause. "I have no idea. She's. . . she's not normal." He winced. "I don't quite mean that. It's just that she's not exactly a normal little girl."

Clint stayed quiet on the line. "I think I know what you mean. She's not really open with me but she's let some things slip." He smiled a little. "Well not slip, she's not clumsy like that. She told me what she wanted me to know."

Bruce nodded, feeling that he understood at least a little. "Alright. Well, whatever you think would be best."

Clint hung up and he was left with his predicament. He headed to the kitchen to get her something more to eat. He grabbed another apple and looked around for something a child would like. Then he thought maybe that she wouldn't want the same things regular children would and so he gave her the apple with a peanut butter sandwich. She thanked him and ate them neatly. He glanced at Thor who's eyebrows were wrinkled with worry.

Bruce glanced down at the girl who sat looking at the television with interest. He glanced at the screen. It was a documentary on polar bears. She was watching with interest as the bear on the screen went about it's day. "Natasha, I've got a friend coming by who's going to bring you some clothes. I hope you'll like what he picks but please don't hold it against him if you don't. He has no idea what you'd like."

She glanced up at him but didn't speak. If anything she looked a little annoyed to have been distracted from her program. He thought that might be a good thing because everything else she'd done so far had been clinical and unnervingly well mannered.

Natasha continued to eat silently. He left her alone to watch her show and motioned Thor out into the hallway. "I'm going to go and get a room ready for her. Can you watch her a little longer?"

"Of course." Thor said. "I am rather fond of children."

Bruce smiled a little. "Alright. I'll be back as fast as I can." He headed off towards the nearest spare room and looked it over for anything he thought needed tidying up or removal. He checked the bathroom and made sure there were towels and shampoo and then when he thought things were neat enough and everything was as it should be he headed back to the living room.

Once there he sat quietly watching Natasha and waiting for the others to arrive back. He was sure by now Steve had told Tony and everyone knew. He wondered if they should alert SHIELD but thought that maybe it would be best if they waited.


	2. Chapter 2

When Steve arrived he hurried up to the living room to find Bruce waiting by the door. "Bruce! Is she alright?"

"She hasn't said much. At least not so far."

"She speaks English?"

"Fluently. I think you should try to find out what SHIELD knows about the Black Widow program. I'm not sure what we're dealing with."

Steve nodded. "Sure. Have you told Fury yet?"

"No, I thought we might wait on that but if that's what it takes to get information then go ahead."

Again, Steve nodded and passed him into the living room. At once Natasha responded. She jumped to her feet and her eyes went wide. She said something in Russian and backed against a wall. "Captain America!" She cried. Her eyes darted to Bruce and narrowed and then shot to Thor who was watching silently.

"Easy!" Steve said, raising his hands placatingly.

Her eyes shot towards the door. "You lied!" She cried. "Where am I?"

Bruce stepped forward and away from the door. In an instant she had bolted towards the exit. Steve let out a yell as she shoved him aside, propelling herself off of him when she found she was not strong enough to move him. Bruce wheeled around and caught sight of the the edge of the blanket as it whipped out of sight. There was a pause where he calculated her escape routs. He could think only of the stairs and the elevator. There was no way she would be able to get out a window. Not at their height. Still, she might be able to hide.

"Thor, go and take the stairs. Bruce-" Steve started.

Bruce cut him off. "I think Thor should go after her. You and I should take the stares and the elevator. She's scared of you and she called me a liar. She won't trust either one of us but there's a chance she'll trust Thor. He hadn't said much to her."

Thor nodded and followed after her, leaving his hammer behind. He crept around the corner. She had a head start but there were only so many places she could hide. He headed first to the end of the hall and checked the rooms there. Then he made his way back down the hall, opening doors as he went. Finally he found her in one of the middle rooms. Clever, he thought. Not too far not to close. He knocked on the door and entered. It was an empty room, just a bed and a lamp. She was hiding under the bed. He was glad there was nothing there she could use as a weapon. He came and sat on the floor. He'd often found humbling himself a way to win over children and he didn't mind doing so for them. He sat on the floor and spoke. "I know you're here." He said softly. "You can come out if you want but I can't make you. It's up to you." That wasn't true but he thought she probably knew that and he was giving her the choice.

There was no noise and so he sat quietly. For a moment. "It is true that we lied to you. We are friends with Captain America also so you know that we are not Russian. Nor are we in league with the Russians. But we will not harm you. Please remember that." Thor smiled, hoping she would see. "You're here because there was an accident and we're not sure how it happened but it did." He gave another apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about this but we want to make you happy while you're here."

Under the bed Natasha weighed her options. There was little she could do. She was only six years old and they were all grown men. She considered also that one of them was Captain America. How that could be she did not understand. He was supposed to dead. She waited for Thor to say something more.

"There will be others coming back soon. I think you'll like them. They're good people. I am fortunate enough to call them my friends."

There was a pause. "Does anyone know I am here?"

Thor hesitated. "No."

"They will come looking for me." She gave him a careful look, seeing how he would react.

"Do you want them to find you?"

"I cannot trust Americans."

"Well, to be fair I am not America. Do you think you could trust me?"

"I do not know." This at least seemed to have given her some thought.

Thor sighed. "Do you like this room? It could be yours?" He felt bad, he knew Bruce had already put one together.

"Why?"

"Well you'll need a place to sleep."

"I could escape." She threatened.

"That's true but where will you go?"

She hesitated before crawling out from under the bed. She stood and looked at Thor. Now that she finally stood she looked very small and pretty but there was a hardness in her eyes that looked out of place. It made a strange combination. Thor smiled at her. "I have a friend coming who will bring you some clothes. I'm sorry about the blanket."

She wrapped the blanket around herself more stiffly and tried to hold it up. It pooled around her like a tent. Thor smiled again. "I will turn around and when I do, you give me the blanket. I will fold it so that it is short enough not to trip you."

She did as she was told, waiting until his back was turned to give him the blanket. When he handed it back she wrapped it around herself again, this time finding it short enough to only just touch the floor. She looked up at him and there was a measure of confusion. It hit him then that she looked a little nervous. He offered her his hand.

"Come on. We can finish the television show over the bears."

She nodded and with trepidation took his hand. She held it loosely, ready to pull away at any moment. He hoped she wouldn't.

Back in the living room they sat and watched the documentary.

Once JARVIS gave Bruce and Steve an update on Natasha the two of them moved to the kitchen, feeling unwelcome in the living room. They sat and waited for the others to arrive. Clint was the first. He said Tony was on his way but would not be back until the next day. He was hung up in China with a company demonstration. Clint had brought several bags of clothes and shoes. He sat and fretted about not buying the right things. Steve and Bruce looked at them. They seemed alright. Neither of them could see any problems with the clothes.

"So why are you guys in here?" Clint asked, breaking from his worries.

"We sort of made a bad first impression." Steve said in embarrassment. "She saw me and panicked. Then she figured out that Bruce had lied to her about why she was there. She's a lot smarter than we gave her credit for. We'll have to watch out."

"She's okay with Thor though?"

"He proved himself somehow."

Clint grabbed one of the bags. "I'll go give her these." The others watched him go.

Clint stepped carefully into the living room, both trying to look normal and yet straining to see Natasha. Thor greeted him.

"This is one of the people I told you about." He said. "This is Clint Barton."

Clint gave her a smile and raised the shopping bag. "I brought you some clothes."

She looked at the bag silently and watched him remove a few of the items and flash them around. Her eyes fixed on at least one shirt before he put them back and handed the bag to her. "You should go and get dressed." Thor encouraged.

She did so, shooting a glance at the kitchen to see if anyone was watching. Once she was back in the room she'd first run into she stopped to think. She was not safe. She had heard stories of Captain America before and while they all hailed him as a man of supreme combat abilities and even some had been friendly they all made sure to warn that he was a symbol of America and America was her enemy.

She quickly dressed and then held back to think. She could escape. It would be difficult but she could do it. She shook a little thinking about it. She was too young to be on a mission. Still, she was the best her age. She knew that so she thought she might have a chance. She had beaten all of the other girls in the Red Room in practice combat. Everyone complimented and praised her. She tried to think of an escape plan. She would have to do as they said for a while. Maybe if she did so they would let their guard down. She returned to the living room where Clint and Thor were sitting talking quietly.

"Oh, Hey!" Clint said cheerfully. She thought his eyes looked uncertain. "Um listen, Bruce wants to apologize for lying to you. He feels really bad."

She frowned and glanced towards the kitchen. She didn't know if that was true. Instead of giving anything definite she nodded. Clint grinned and looked over the clothes she had picked. "You look really pretty."

She cocked her head to the side, surprised by his comment. She received praise quiet frequently in the Red Room. After defeating an opponent. After proving she had mastered another language. After wielding a new weapon. But she was never told she was a pretty girl. His words made her happy in a way she didn't understand. She looked up at him. He was still smiling at her and although it made her happy she couldn't meet his eyes.

"Will you forgive Bruce? He meant well." Thor said.

With little other choice she nodded.

"And Steve, Captain America, he's not a bad guy." Clint put in. "Give him a chance."

She felt a wave a cold waft over her and she hesitated. She still could not bring herself to consider the idea of trusting Captain America.

"Well, maybe in time." Thor said with a sad smile. She stood for a moment waiting for someone to tell her what to do. When no one did she took a seat and looked Clint over. He was curiously different from the others. Thor was big and powerful looking. She knew Banner must be smart and Captain America was famous. She wondered what this man was like.

She sat quietly and after a while Steve and Bruce returned. They sat down and everyone watched the television awkwardly. Earlier when Bruce had first turned on the TV she had wanted to watch the children's program but had thought the better of it. She was typically not allowed to watch things like that and anyway, she didn't want to appear childish.

The others talked and she listened. Occasionally one of them would try and engage her in the conversation but she stayed silent. She didn't really know what to say. They were talking about a man named Tony. Someone said he was in China. She gathered quickly that they were in his house. Still, after a little while of listening she found she was learning nothing useful. She stared at the wall only half listening and it was not until Bruce got up and came back with a pad of paper.

"I thought you might be getting board." He said with a smile.

She took the paper and pen and thanked him quietly, tucking her legs under neath herself and then staring blankly as she tried to think of something to draw. She looked out the window and thought that maybe she should draw the city. She tried and was rather unsuccessful. Still, Clint and Steve both leaned over and told her she had done a good job. She thought they might have been patronizing her.

After a while Steve excused himself to go and change. He was still in his Captain America uniform. Natasha watched him go before setting the pad of paper aside and returning her attention to the television. She kind of liked being able to sit around and draw and watch tv. She never got the chance in the Red Room. Everything was work and survival there.

Clint tried repeatedly to make jokes and once or twice he had actually made her laugh. She tried not to let him see her smile though.

They sat for a while more. Thor and Clint were talking and Bruce had taken out a tablet. At first she wasn't sure what he had but after a while she saw that it was a kind of computer. Natasha walked to the window and stood looking out at the city. They had said they were in New York. She had only ever seen pictures of the city before. She was curious. She looked down at the streets below and the buildings and people. She watched them and pressed her hands to the glass, leaning forward to look down.

From the couch Clint watched her. He was burning with curiosity and more than that was worried that she wouldn't like him. She hadn't really shown any signs of liking anything so far. He turned around in his seat to face her. "Did you like the clothes I bought?"

She nodded and looked down at the shirt and pants she'd picked. Some of the clothes he'd picked had been very pretty but she'd opted for something easy to move around in. she wished she could wear pretty clothes more but pretty clothes were for other girls. She had too important of a role in life to indulge in pretty clothes.

Clint smiled and she found herself smiling back at him. She quickly stopped herself as soon as she realized what she was doing.

A few moments later Steve returned and came to stand by her. Natasha stiffened and gave him as cold a look as she could. He smiled down at her. "It's a pretty view,isn't it?"

She looked up at him silently.

"I hope you'll believe me when I say that I don't want to hurt you."

She looked away and out across the city. She did not believe him. And even if he didn't want to hurt her in particular he was a threat to her people.

He frowned and looked genuinely sad when she did not warm up to him.

She stood for a while longer before returning to her seat. Steve was left by himself, unable to think of a way to prove to her that he was harmless.

Bruce watched this interaction with difficulty. Natasha was certainly a guarded child and it was disheartening to watch her be so cold to Steve.

After a moment of awkward silence Clint jumped to his feet. "Hey Nat, how about I give you a tour?"

She frowned and looked at him suspiciously before nodding and following him out of the room. Clint showed her the kitchen, pointed out that she could take anything from the refrigerator, opened and closed the pantry and then lead her down the hall. They peaked into the room she'd taken as her own, they they stopped by his but didn't go in. he said it was too messy and he didn't want her to see. Then on a whim he took her up to the roof where she walked from place to place looking out at the city. He guessed she must have liked that because when they came back down her face was flushed with excitement.

"Place is pretty neat, huh?" He asked.

She nodded and the looked at him. "Thank you for the clothes." She said quietly.

He grinned. "You like 'em?"

She nodded. "Very much."And to her it looked as though that made him truly happy.

"Well if you want anything let me know. I'd be happy to get it."

She nodded again, surprised by how generous he was being. But then she thought, she had known some men like that. They were desperate for a kind of good in the world. Sometimes they tries to make her that good but she wasn't. She could not be that for them and so their efforts to make her smile and their longing to see their daughters in her failed. She wondered if Clint was like that, if he had a daughter he was trying to see in her. He was young but that didn't mean anything. She doubted he was just that genuinely nice. No one ever was.

Clint lead her black to the living room where the others had dispersed from. Bruce had gone down to the labs and Thor had left for the kitchen. Only Steve was left and as soon as she saw him Natasha's gaze turned icy. Clint quickly distracted her with the television. He turned on a kids movie and Natasha watched it, apparently feeling that she was not above live action children's shows.


	3. Chapter 3

Around dinner Bruce ordered take out from an Italian restaurant and they ate in the kitchen. Natasha sat as far from Steve as she could, all the while trying to understand how he could be alive and what he was plotting. She was occasionally distracted by Clint who was working hard to keep the mood light. She liked him. He prattled and a lot of what he said wasn't important or deep but she liked him.

She listened quietly and part of her wanted to drift off. Often that was the case but she never dared to. She had learned every day of her life that a slip of her attention could lead to death.

After dinner Bruce asked her if there was anything she wanted and when she couldn't think of anything he smiled and said that it was alright. She tried to figure him out but there was something off about him. It wasn't exactly bad but it wasn't good either. She didn't know what to think. It was just strange.

As she sat in the living room, watching night fall over the city she tried to think about the others and what she would do the next day. No one had said anything about any plans so far. She wondered if anything was expected of her.

After a while Bruce suggested that she go and get ready for bed. She nodded and seized the chance to take a bath. She seldom got the chance to enjoy herself in a bath. This time however she was able to sit and soak and it felt good. The water was clean and warm and her stomach was full. She was happy about that. She sat in the tub, soaking. There was a bottle that when she poured it in the water made it soapy and bubbly. After checking that no one was there to see her she ducked her head under the water and smiled. It felt good to be self indulgent. After a while her toes wrinkled and her fingers pruned and it made her smile more.

That night as she lay in bed she felt strange. The bed was big and comfortable and warm too but she had never known such luxury before and it didn't feel right. It didn't feel like it was for her. She tossed and turned and could not for the life of her force herself to be comfortable. In the end she fell into an uneasy sleep.

In her dreams she was home again, surrounded by stony faced matrons and hardened soldiers. All of whom where angry with her. They said she was a traitor and in trouble for eating a meal with Captain America. She was in trouble for enjoying so many frivolous things while her sisters in the red room worked and gave themselves for their cause.

She tossed and turned as her sisters turned their backs on her and she was condemned. She awoke with a start and a frantically beating heart. She felt sick and afraid. Afraid that when she returned home there would be no welcome for her and even more she was afraid that she would learn to like having her own bathroom and bedroom. The food had been good and the clothes were pretty and nice. She didn't want to enjoy those things, it could only lead to trouble.

She lay back and stared out the window at the moon. The Red Room wasn't the worst place. All of the little girls had heard stories of gulags and the criminals who were sent there. Part of the threat keeping her in place was that her parents might be imprisoned or worse yet killed if she didn't behave. The other part was that she had been told she was serving in great honor. The Black Widow training program was only for the select few who could be trusted. Being chosen meant she was special.

Eventually she opened her eyes to the first rays of morning light and sighed. She had slept poorly through the rest of the night. She rolled out of bed, dressed and brushed her hair. Looking at a brightly light digital clock reading 5:30. She was usually up at 5:00. she had slept in. she worried instantly that she was going to be in trouble but no one was there angrily waking her up. She hesitated before making her bed and then sitting down. She would wait for someone to come.

But she sat for almost an hour before anyone checked in on her. Bruce knocked on the door and stuck his head in. "Oh you're up. Are you hungry?"

She nodded, eyes wide and watchful. She followed him into the kitchen and sat patiently. "Where are the others?" She asked.

"Well Steve's out for a run and morning coffee. He's been getting it at a shop in the mornings and Clint and Thor are still asleep. It's just you and me."

She looked up at him as he cooked up eggs. She thought he was probably a very intelligent person. When he was done cooking he split the eggs between them, got her some orange juice and himself some coffee and sat down.

"How did you sleep?"

She was silent, she did not want to look like she was sifting for pity.

"It can be difficult sleeping in a new place. Especially if under confusing circumstances like these. I hope tonight will be better."

"Am I going home?" She asked quietly.

She looked at her over his glasses. "No." He had debated telling her but he had a feeling that she already knew. She was smart. She would see through a lie.

"Then I am a prisoner."

"Not necessarily. We don't want to think of you like that and we'd rather you not think of yourself like that either."

"You know people will come looking for me."

He paused. "Natalia, I think I ought to explain some things to you. You are not only miles away from your home but quite a few other things have changed as well. What year do you think it is?"

She frowned, not understanding. "It is 1951." She wondered if the Americans had a different calendar.

"Well the thing is. . . it's not. It's 2015. and you're supposed to be an adult." She looked shocked and he thought it was best to get everything out while he could. "You live here as an adult. We work together."

She sat still and he thought he saw her lip tremble. Then she mastered herself with all of the self control a girl her age should lack. "I work with Captain America as an adult?"

"Yes. You like him."

"What about my sisters?"

"I honestly don't know much about them. I know that you left Russia many years ago. I know that you have been in America for a while. I know that you have saved my life before and I've saved your life."

Her whole body was trembling now and her breathing was harsher. " Why?"

"We do good things Natasha. We help people. I think for you that's very important."

"Why did I come to America?"

He sat quietly. "I don't know, you never told me that. But I know that you're a good person and I'm lucky to count you as a friend. I want you to be happy here."

Her lip was trembling now. "So why am I like this? If I am supposed to be an adult then why and I not? I am six."

He looked at her sadly. "We deal with magic. . ." Personally he was always looking for the real explanation but he wasn't going to convolute things any more for her. "And some how something magic turned you into a child."

She made a small noise that sounded like a muffled sob. "I don't understand. Why would I betray my country? I h-have doubts and sometimes I. . ." She broke off and then resumed on another track. "But I am loyal. I am doing good. I don't. . . I wouldn't. . ."

"I don't know your reasons Natasha. I know you want to do good and help people because when you do you feel better. But that's all I know." He reached out a hand and touched her's. She shook more violently as she tried to regain control of herself. "I'm not hungry." She set her fork aside and left the table. If this was not the red room there was no reason for her to do as these people said. She hurried to her room and quickly sat down on the bed. She was horribly upset.

She didn't know how this could have happened. She didn't understand her own thinking but he had to be right. It was the only way she could be in Russia one morning and then America the next and the only way they could all know her. And even more it would explain a few odd things she's noticed around the place. Even more it explained why the others seemed stressed around her. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and sniffed. She was scared. She now knew she grew up to be a traitor. She hated it, something must have happened to cause her to do it. She knew she just wouldn't betray her people like that. She just wouldn't.

A soft knock on her door alerted her to Bruce. He stood in the doorway looking sad. "I know this must be a shock and incredibly difficult to understand. If there's anything any of us can do to help please let us know. We only want to help."

Quite suddenly he had a strong reminder of himself as a child when he first moved in with his cousin's family. His mother had just died and he had just testified against his father in court. He twitched at the thought. They had tried so hard to be comforting and kind and he had almost refused to let them. He could feel the Hulk stir at the mere thought. He came and sat next to her.

"It's not so bad here. The others are nice people. I hope you'll think of me as a nice person too."

She wiped her eyes and looked at him from an angle. She believed him. He was a nice person. He had told the truth, clearly against his own wishes. She respected that as much as her six year old mind would allow her to grasp the concept. She let her face crumple in misery. "I don't understand."

"I know. I'm sorry I can't be of more help. Would you like to go for a walk?" He thought getting her outside would help her.

She nodded and he helped her into a coat Clint had bought. They took the elevator and all the while Natasha clutched at the front of her dress. She gripped the fabric and twisted it as she tried to stay calm. She was so confused she wanted to cry.

They walked out into the early morning light and set off around the block. Natasha was quiet most of the time but Bruce had had the right idea. Being outside calmed her down. She was able to look around at her surroundings and plan an escape. Or that had been her original plan. Suddenly it had occurred to her that there was no point to running away because there was nothing to run to. If she had been able to defect from the red room then in all likelihood there was no Red Room left. This not only troubled her but also gave her a strange sense of freedom. She walked quietly and looked up at the buildings around her. She had only ever seen pictures of New York skyscrapers. She thought about pictures of their things she had seen. She had seen pictures of Central Park. She wondered if she would be able to see it now. It had always looked lovely.

When they returned to the tower Clint was up and she watched him quietly as he stumbled around the kitchen. He smiled at her and through her unhappiness and confusion she smiled back. His simple ways made her smile.

A few minutes later Steve returned and after a moment of silence he came and sat down across from her at the table. She eyed him warily. Bruce had said she trusted him as an adult. She was now looking for reasons why. He cleared his throat and her attention was renewed.

"I got you something while I was out." He said. He brought up a gift bag with butterflies on it. She thought it was rather pretty but it wasn't enough to win her over. "Go on, open it."

She looked into the bag and retrieved a large box of crayons and a pad of paper. She looked at them in surprise.

He smiled hopefully. "It looked like you enjoyed drawling yesterday so I thought you might like to have some crayons."

From across the room Bruce smiled into his third cup of coffee. He approved of Steve's peace offering.

"Do you like them? It was the biggest box of crayons they had."

She nodded. "Thank you but you did not have to."

"I know but I wanted to."

She gave him a small smile, still unsure of how to feel towards him. "They're very nice."

"Maybe you could draw me a picture?"

She nodded, considering it. It was only polite since he had bought her such nice things. He smiled and she set the drawling pad and crayons neatly aside. When she had finally finished what was left of her breakfast she picked up the gifts and moved to the living room. Her intent was to draw what she saw out the window but she spent a lot of time just watching the cars down below, fascinated by the way the cars moved in the streets and the way the people hurried back and forth.

Bruce turned on a kids show and she listened to that but nothing the characters said seemed terribly important and some how they lacked the charm Clint had when he was doing something unnecessary.

She pressed her nose to the glass without even realizing it.

In the kitchen Bruce told the others that Natasha knew about their predicament. "She handled it better than could have been expected but she was pretty upset. At least now I think she's willing to forgo any attempt at running away."

"Well I guess that's a good thing." Clint said.

"For now. But I'm worried that she's too afraid of us." By 'us' He meant Steve. Steve was the only one she had shown open hostility towards.

Steve nodded. "I know, I'll work on it."

"I think you made a good start with the gift. I don't think she wanted to show it but she really liked it. And Clint, you did a good job picking clothes she'd like."

Clint shrugged, he'd been thinking of what he knew the adult Natasha liked. He hadn't been sure.

Thor, who was standing against the counter crossed his arms. "With regards to returning her to normal, do we have a place to start?"

Steve shifted. "I was hoping you could look into that. You said it was your people's magic that caused the change so I was hoping you might know someone who would know what to do."

"I shall send out a message." Thor nodded seriously.

"Steve, I was thinking that maybe Doctor Strange should be contacted. He might know what to do in this situation." Bruce said. "I tried calling him last night but he's out and I couldn't get an answer about when he'll be back. I'll keep trying though."

"I think that's a good idea." Steve said. "Good thinking."

Bruce nodded and glanced down the hall towards the living room. "Well anyway, as long as things are stuck the way they are I think we should work out who's going to be watching her. At least one person should be with her during the day. We can't leave a six year old alone."

Clint nodded. "Yeah, best not to."

They sat for a moment before Steve asked how Bruce thought she would react to Tony.

"I don't know if she'll like him. . . he's got a strong personality to say the least." Bruce said delicately.

Clint laughed. "That's one way to put it."

Steve frowned, not seeing the humor. "I hope he'll tone it down a little."

Bruce nodded. "Well, I'll talk to him before he meets her."

Steve nodded too and changed the subject. "Well anyway, we can't let this distract us from our job as Avengers. I agree that someone should baby sit but the rest of us still need to watch over the city."

There was a general acceptation of agreement. Thor said he would be happy to pick up shifts or to babysit, either one would be fine. Bruce who had so far taken charge thanked him.

They then divided up and Clint and Thor left to do rounds while Bruce and Steve stayed to watch Natasha.

"I'm going to do some blood work on her." Bruce said once the other two had left. He didn't much like the idea of sticking a little girl with a needle but it was for her own good. If there was any chance he could help her or discover a way to turn her back he had to take it.

He found Natasha sitting in the living room, she had dragged a chair up to the window and was sitting with her legs tucked up underneath her. She was drawling a skyscraper across the street. It was a childish picture but with an unusual amount of self-discipline. Bruce told her it was very good and she nodded thoughtfully.

"Natasha, I hate to ask you this but I need to draw some blood."

She gave him an intense look that was so very grown up it shook him and extended her arm.

"Not here, we can go down to my lab. I don't have any equipment here anyway." She stood and followed him to the elevator and down to the labs.

Once he had her seated on a stool he watched her out of the corner of his eye. It was unnerving how calm she was. Any other child should at least have some fear at the idea of a needle stick. And the way she sat quietly looking around was even stranger.

When he came to draw blood she extended her arm expertly and it shook him further. There was no fear or hesitation, only a slight wince when he pierced her arm. He drew out the minimum amount he could get away with and then helped her to get up to the kitchen and eat some fruit. She ate a peach quietly but with enough enthusiasm to prove that she liked it. He wondered if she had ever had one before and cut up a second one for her. She ate it too with delight. "You want me to put on a movie?" He asked.

She shrugged. They moved to the living room and he put on The Little Mermaid, thinking she might like a movie about a red haired little girl. She watched quietly and Bruce picked up his phone to check on Steve. He had said he was going out to pick up groceries for Natasha.

Steve said he was busy looking for things kids enjoyed. Bruce recommended a few things and Steve seized on them. Promising to be back soon.

So far nothing had gone terribly wrong. Natasha seemed to like the movie and sat with wide, excited eyes. Bruce asked JARVIS to keep an eye on her while he ran some tests down in the lab. He didn't think much would go wrong but he kept a video monitor up just to be safe.

Around lunch He returned to find her with only a few minutes left on the tape and stood in the doorway, letting her finish. "You hungry?" He asked as the credits rolled.

She nodded and followed him into the kitchen. She was surprised by how much food they had. She and the other girls were not exactly starved but they were given what they needed and no more. Their keepers said that they did not want the girls to be frivolous or over indulgent. She was surprised to be allowed to eat until she was full. Clint had even said she was free to take food whenever she wanted to.

She ate lunch in relative quiet. Bruce talked to her a bit and she liked listening to him. He was intelligent and spoke softly. She had grown up around gnarled, hardened old soldiers. They were her brothers in combat but they were gruff and battle weary. It was a new experience to be around a man untouched by such things and yet he didn't seem holey spared. There was something under the surface.

She liked how he explained what he was doing with her blood and as she caught snippets of what she was like as an adult. She took it that he had a great respect for her and from the way he spoke the others did too. She felt a surge of pride at that.

A little while later Steve returned with the groceries and a few hair bobbles he'd seen at the check out line. A woman who hadn't recognized him had thought he was buying for his daughter had helped him.

She looked at the hair barrette. It was sparkly and had fake little diamonds on it. She thought it was very pretty but didn't understand why he kept buying her things. She thought maybe he was trying to buy her off. If that was the case then she would keep watch and make sure it didn't happen. Still, she thanked him and smiled slightly. She wasn't a rude girl.


	4. Chapter 4

That night Natasha braided her hair and wore the barrette to dinner in order to look her best. She was still not sure about Steve but as he was nothing but friendly to her she could find no reason to be overly cold to him. She was polite and found a special interest in Clint. There was something so wonderful about talking to some one who only tried to make her laugh.

Thor too was good about it. She thought it was funny how he called her a little maiden. He had a funny way of talking that she liked. It seemed quaint.

After dinner there was a bang outside the living room that made her think of weapon fire. Instead a man came in. He walked fast and with quick even strides. She had never seen a person like him before.

"Alright!" He said, throwing open the door to the balcony. "I'm back, anyone wanna tell me what the hell Steve was talking about the other day? Natasha's a kid?" He looked around the living room and spotted her sitting on the couch. Her eyes were wide with alarm. She looked positively ready to spring away.

Steve stood up quickly. "Tony-"

Tony waved him off and strode up to Natasha and holding out his hand. "Tony Stark." He said.

She almost jutted her jaw out she was so on edge but she shook his hand. "Natalia."

"Natalia, nice to meet you." He then turned to the others. "Well I'm going to go take a shower, I just flew back from China in the suit and I am beat. I'll see you guys later."

As soon as he was was gone Natasha looked to Bruce for answers.

"I'm sorry about that." He said. "Tony's a fast talker and well. . . he likes to do everything fast. Also, I don't think he's spent much time around kids."

She nodded, willing to give him a chance but not at all sure she would like him. He seemed too fast and just too much. She returned to the game of checkers she was playing with Thor, now keeping an eye on the door for his return.

"Please don't hold it against him. He's a little hard to take but for the most part he means well." Steve said. She noticed his hesitation and wondered what it meant. Maybe the two were at odds.

When tony returned he waited a moment before entering the living room. The truth was that he had taken his time getting back, somehow hoping that they would find a way to restore her before he got there. He watched her play checkers with Thor, the god was laughing as she held her own. He looked proud to have found an opponent in someone so young. In an instant Tony's eyes met Natasha's. She gazed at him wide eyes. In fact her gaze was so intense he had to blink. He gave her a small smile which she did not return. Instead she just looked away.

Carefully he made his way into the room and sank onto the couch. "How was China?" Bruce asked.

Tony shrugged. "Meh, I mostly saw the inside of a hotel. That and a conference room. Not a lot to do there."

"Why didn't you fly back commercial?"

"And sit next to the fat guy?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "You fly first class. You don't sit next to anyone."

Tony grinned. "True."

Steve smiled. "I don't really like flying either. Too cramped."

"First class could fix that."

He shrugged. "I like the people."

Tony shook his head like he didn't get it.

Across the room Natasha watched these interactions closely. She wasn't sure what to make of the new comer. Everything he did seemed very fast and he flitted from one subject to the next with rapid speed. She was a little taken aback by the way he dominated the conversation. Once or twice he caught her looking and she would quickly look away. If he thought she was spying he would say something. She was sure he would. But so far he hadn't.

The evening wore on and Thor defeated Natasha twice at checkers. Both times were narrow defeats. He had been surprised how fast she had picked up the game considering it as her first time playing. In a few more games she might even beat him. But for now he was winning.

When it got late Bruce sent her off to bed and she went without a second thought. There was little in her mind that actively thought disobeying them was a good idea. She still could not gauge how strict they were. She had done nothing to push them and so everything had stayed friendly. She wondered how long that could last.

As she climbed into bed she thought about all of the other girls back in the red room and a small part of her was glad that she was not there. Things were hard there and she was never given the freedom to sit and draw or sit and watch television. She didn't even like most of the other girls. There was no love bred between them. They were taught to have a sense of unity but they were taught to out do one another. Taught to survive.

The people here were all on a team and they all shared meals ad spent evenings together. She found it different. They were so unlike anyone she had ever met before.

She lay back thinking. She wasn't sure she liked feeling like this. Feeling warm and full and in a small way safe. She couldn't explain it but she didn't feel like she deserved it. Yet she waned to.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning she found herself alone with Clint. He made her a sloppy breakfast that he seemed overly proud of. He admitted that he had never done much cooking before. She understood and didn't hold it against him. She found any food in the tower was better than what she got in the Red Room.

"Where are the others?" She asked a little shyly. When there was a group she could count on not being the center of attention.

Clint grinned. "Cap and Tony are across town and Thor is visiting a scientist buddy of his. Bruce is out too but I don't remember where."

She nodded. "So it is just you and me?"

"Yep. That's not going to be a problem is it?"

She shook her head. There was something disarming about him. He looked strong and walked like a man who knew he could hold his own. Yet there was something reachable about him. Bruce seemed like he kept a lot inside and she couldn't get a good reading on the others. A part of her wondered if she could manipulate him. He was eager to make her like him. She could tell that.

After breakfast Clint took her into the living room and the two of them sat down to entertain themselves. Clint read the newspaper and she drew, eventually taking the funny pages from him and looking at them.

When that was finished and he was still squinting at an article over how his favorite sports team had lost she turned and began trying to braid her hair. She was good at it. She made a single long plait down her back and then held on, having nothing to tie it with. He looked up and handed her the rubber band from the newspaper.

"Thank you." She said.

He set the paper aside. "So what do you want to do today?"

She looked out the window. "I don't know."

He frowned. "Wanna go play outside?"

She shrugged. "There's a park down the street. We can go there." She shrugged again but getting out and exercising sounded good. He smiled. "Go get your coat." She ran and did so, stopping to look at her hair in the mirror and admire her handy work.

He was waiting by the elevator. "Ready?" She nodded.

They set off down the sidewalk and she looked around with wide eyes. She had never seen such a city before. They were walled in by buildings. It was an almost claustrophobic. She was stunned by it. All around her was sound and bustle. She looked from side to side and up and down and tried to take in every detail but was overwhelmed. There was just too much to take in.

Clint grinned at her a little. "Lot of concrete, isn't it?" She nodded. "When I first moved to the city I couldn't believe it. It was so different from Iowa."

"You are not from here?"

"I'm from another state. Iowa. Land of corn and beans."

She gave him a small smile, finding his joke funny. "They do farming there?"

He nodded. "Yeah a lot."

"Did you like it there?"

He thought back. He'd grown up in Iowa. "I don't know. I've had more fun other places."

She nodded. "I understand." She thought she did anyway. He was being mysterious.

He lead her to the park and she took a seat on a swing, looking strangely formal and out of place among the other children. She wore her clothes a little more old fashionedly and her posture was proper and straight. He watched her swing and grinned at the way her braid lifted off of her back and then came back down. She was watching a group of three other girls were playing with dolls.

Clint wondered if she wanted to join them but didn't know. The mind of a six year old girl was as foreign to him as it had been when he was six years old.

Eventually Natasha slowed her swinging and gently kicked the ground with her feet, looking out across the park at a man playing with his dog.

One of the girls started towards her. She hugged the swing set post until Natasha looked over at her. "Do you wanna play with us?" The girl asked.

Natasha looked at her curiously and nodded.

"I'm Kacey. Do you have a doll?"

Natasha looked her over. "No, I did not bring it."

Kacey's eyes widened at her accent. "Are you from somewhere?"

"Soviet Union."

"Where's that?"

They walked over to the other girls who were sitting on the merry-go-round. "It is in Europe and in Asia." Natasha answered precisely.

The girl looked as though that went over her head but Natasah didn't press it, she was beginning to feel self conscious.

"Next time you can bring your doll." Kacey said, handing her an extra Barbie.

Natasha looked at the doll. "This is a strange toy. I have never seen a doll like this."

The girls looked at each other curiously and one of them smirked a little.  
"What is her name?"

"Barbie." One of them said.

Natasha nodded. "What are we playing?"

"We're playing high school." Haley said. "All of our dolls are in high school and mine is going to take Ken to the prom."

"What is the prom?" Natasha asked curiously.

"It's a dance, stupid." One of the other girls said.

Natasha frowned. "Don't call me stupid."

From across the park Clint watched Natasha play with the other girls. So far it looked okay but he knew Natasha had been a kid in the 50s and he was worried. She might not play the same way they did and she did not know everything they knew. He watched quietly as one of the girls said something Natasha didn't like and she responded. Another of the girls laughed and Natasha looked angry. She set the doll down after a quick snap at the girl who had angered her she walked away. Her face was red and she looked upset. She returned to the swings and swung hard before slowing to a defeated pace.

Clint got to his feet and came to sit on the swing next to her. "Everything okay?"

Natasha shot a look towards the girls again who were shooting her looks. "yes."

"You wanna go get something to eat?"

She shot yet another look towards the girls. "Yes." She got to her feet and in a moment of weakness took his hand.

He looked towards the girls and frowned, wondering what they had said to upset her so much. He squeezed her hand.

They bought food from a hot dog vendor. Natasha thought the sausage was a little on the poor side but didn't comment, it was still better than anything else she had ever eaten and Clint was trying to cheer her up. He bought her ice cream which she liked a lot and she felt a little better.

"They made fun of me." She said as they walked.

Startled by her breaking the silence he looked down. "Kids are mean."

"They said I was stupid and made fun of me."

He brushed a hand over her head and she looked up. "You're not stupid. You're really smart. They just called you that cause they couldn't come up with anything better."

She didn't mention that they had made fun of her for not having a doll. She had never even seen a doll like theirs before. She had only ever seen baby dolls. She had just been curious about dolls that looked like grown ups. She hung her head and wished that she had a doll. She had never had one.

Clint squeezed her hand and gave her the rest of his ice cream which she ate quietly, thanking him.

They walked for a while more, Clint letting her get to know the neighborhood. She was curious about most everything but it was hard to tell by her behavior. She tended to play everything down. He could see the adult Natasha's tendencies forming in her. Yet this girl was not yet so withdrawn or guarded and she hadn't quite mastered herself the way Natasha would in the future.

When they returned to the tower they both sat in the living room, Clint playing with a new trick arrow he was working on and Natasha sat staring out the window. She was still feeling down, despite everything he had done. She wished she had a doll and the thought upset her because she had never really wished for anything like that before. Well, she had never let herself wish for something like that.

She sat and stared out the window and across the room Clint worried about her. She had cheered up after they'd eaten but that hadn't lasted very long. He wished there was something he could do for her.

Bruce returned in the evening looking tired. He mentioned to Clint that he had been out trying to track down Doctor Strange and had eventually worked up enough information to know that the man would be back in town the following week.

"Well that's good news, isn't it?" Clint asked.

"Yeah." Bruce looked exhausted. "But do you know how many sorcerers I had to go through to get that information?"

Clint laughed. "Figures."

"How were things on your end?"

"Okay. . . we went to the park and some girls there weren't that nice to her. I think she's still kinda bummed about it."

Bruce's forehead wrinkled in sympathy. "Kids are harsh."

"yeah. . . she just seems down and I feel like there's not enough for her to do here."

"We could get her some toys. A doll or a stuffed animal?"

"Yeah, I'll go out after dinner. Get it before bed time."

Bruce smiled in approval. "That will be nice."

Clint rubbed his hands together, feeling the pressure of the task. "Okay. What do kids like? What do girls like?"

Bruce raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "I really don't know."

They turned to look in the living room where Natasha was sitting against the window, looking through a discarded newspaper.

"I would start with a doll or a stuffed animal." Feeling a little personal, Bruce stared at the wall. "Stuffed animals can mean an awful lot to kids."

Clint looked at him curiously but didn't question it. He figured Bruce knew what he was talking about and if he didn't feel like sharing he sure as hell wasn't going to push it. He instead turned to the kitchen land line. "Anything you want to eat tonight?"

"Get Chinese, we haven't had that in a while."

Clint nodded and grabbed a phone book.

Tony, Thor and Steve arrived not long after that. Tony and Steve had been busy fighting a group of escaped super villains all day. They were pleased to hear that Bruce had managed to track down Doctor Strange, even though it would take a week before they would be able to help.

They sat down and talk turned to the list of escaped super villains. Clint groaned when he learned that not all had been caught.

"And to make matters worse," Steve groaned. "The Punisher was in the neighborhood. I had to stop him from killing a guy. He was convinced that the man was in the mafia. So there I was, trying to stop the Rhino and two other guys on one side of the street and stop Castle from killing a man two weeks before his court hearing. Tony is up fighting a guy with jets on his feet and stolen Stark tech and the next thing I know I'm caught in the crossfire when Castle starts firing at the Rhino. It was a colossal mess."

"Castle's a problem." Bruce said, sighing.

"An asshole." Tony grunted.

Steve elbowed him and gestured at Natasha with his head. "Watch it." He said. Natasha looked up but didn't seem troubled by the language.

Clint licked his lips and leaned across the table. "Hey, Natasha?" She looked up. "I'm gonna go out after dinner and get some shopping done. Anything you want?"

She thought of the doll and shook her head. "No thank you."

He squinted a little, trying to come off as amicable. "You sure? What about a doll or a stuffed animal? You got a favorite animal?"

She looked down at her plate, unsure of what to say. Yes she wanted one but she didn't want to ask. She was afraid to.

"Well we'll see." He said, straightening up and smiling.

She hoped that he would still get the doll, even if she didn't ask. She wanted it a lot but she couldn't ask. She wasn't even supposed to want one. Dolls were for other little girls. She had once been told that going without a doll meant that ten other little girls were able to have one. It was a mark of her sacrifice. She was told to be proud and sometimes she was but other times she was angry. Angry that she couldn't be like regular little girls. Angry that she couldn't do or have the same things that they could.

That evening while they all converged in the living room and Steve watched the evening news Clint got his coat and was almost to the elevator when he heard Natasha's voice behind him. She was standing with her hands behind her back. "What's up?" He asked.

"Could you pick a pretty one?"

He frowned. "A pretty what?"

She ducked her head, feeling every ounce of her teachings strain against her. "P-pick a pretty doll." She looked up and met his eyes. "Please?"

He smiled. "I'll pick the prettiest one there is."

She gave him a small smile and ran back to the living room.

Clint smiled a little wistfully as he watched her go.

That night Natasha went to bed before Clint returned and lay still, wondering if he was really getting her a doll. She wanted to believe he was. She really did and yet the thought scared her because she had never dared to dream that something as pretty or frivolous as a doll could be for her. A part of her felt like she was letting go of a something huge.

A soft knock on her door made her sit up, she waited with bated breath as Clint's figure appeared against the hall light. He was smiling and he held out a bag. "I got it. You tell me is she's pretty enough." He came and sat on the end of her bed, flicking on the bedside lamp.

She took the bag and looked inside. Inside was a cloth doll with red hair. She looked at the doll over, shocked. No one had ever given her anything like it before.

"It's not a one of a kind. . ." Clint said, her lack of response was worrying him. He hadn't known what kind of doll to get but he thought of he got a soft one she could sleep with it and Raggedy Ann was a good choice. She had red hair like Natasha too. "But I thought you might like it. . ."

She touched the yarn covering the doll's head, running her finger through it. Clint felt a pit form in his gut. He had gotten the wrong thing and she didn't like it. He knew it.

She broke into a big smile. "Thank you!" She said it softly but there was deep emotion in her voice.

"You like it?" He felt his heart lift.

Tentatively she reached out and put her arms around his neck. In a show of unpracticed affection she placed a light kiss on his cheek and she smiled and petted her head. She set the doll on her lap and smiled at him. "Thank you."

He squeezed her shoulder. "I'm glad you like it. It's called a Raggedy Ann doll but you can call it whatever you want."

"I will call her Ann. Thank you."

He smiled again and picked up the bag. "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Once he was gone she rolled onto her side and kissed the doll's head, wrapping her arms around it. Hardly believing that she now owned her very own doll.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Natasha awoke without the doll in her arms and had a sudden thought that it had all been a dream. She felt a lump form in her throat and sighed, drawling her knees up to her chest. They bumped against something and she lifted the covers to look. The doll was lying face down and forgotten by her. She reached down and grabbed it, plucking at he doll's rumpled dress.

An infinite glow of happiness settled through her and as she got up and got dressed she set the doll on the pillows so she could look at it.

After a moment of indecision she decided to leave the doll in the room while she went to breakfast. She didn't want to risk getting anything on it.

Bruce and Clint were in the kitchen, Clint had tried to make pancakes but a mess had ensued and now Bruce was trying to fix the situation without being too critical.

"You sleep okay?" Clint asked.

She nodded and gave him a smile. "Thank you." She said again.

He laughed. "You already said that."

She looked at him, a small smile playing her lips. Sometimes he seemed simple to her. Not dumb or anything but a little simple.

She took a seat and Bruce distributed the pancakes. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She ate quietly while Bruce and Clint talked. There seemed to be a lack of communication between them. Natasha noticed it right away. It was like they couldn't find that many things to talk about. She listened to their polite conversation quietly.

After breakfast she went back to her room, made her bed and picked up the doll again, bringing it to the living room and setting it on the window sill next to her. She had little interest in the television but didn't mind it on. She sat for a while looking through an atlas and noting some minor differences from maps she had looked at before. She thought she might ask about them later. The atlas had pictures of different cities in the back. She liked those.

When that lost it's interest she sat back and played with the doll for a while, smoothing her dress and moving the arms.

Bruce spotter her and leaned over the couch she was sitting on. "Do you like the doll?"

She nodded. "Very much."

"That's good. It's a classic doll."

She cocked her head to the side. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, well it's a doll that's been around for a while."

She nodded. "It's a rag doll." She realized that he was probably an incredibly intelligent person and wanted him to know that she was smart too.

He smiled. "Yeah."

"Do you want anything?" He asked, standing back up.

"Could I have something to drink."

Bruce nodded, glad she was asking for things. Over the past few days she had not asked for anything and she was already impossible to read at six years old.

He went and got her some juice and crackers. "Thank you." She said, picking up her box of crayons and pad of paper. She drew for a while more before Clint showed up sweaty from the training room and made her some lunch.

"Guess you're getting pretty board?" He said. He himself had been unable to sit still as a kid.

She shrugged but yes, she was. He tapped his fingers on the table, trying to think of something they could do. "Want to go swimming?"

She looked up curiously.

"We have a pool. C'mon, it'll be fun."

"I do not have a swimming suit." She said.

He faltered, even as a little girl she was always thinking of the things he missed. "Well we can go get one."

She nodded and finished her lunch. "Let's go."

They headed out and took a cab to a department store. All along the ride Natasha had the same reaction to the city. She was totally captivated by the buildings and people but tried very hard not to show her excitement.

Once in the store her reaction was much the same. She was stunned by the pretty clothes and brightly light make up and jewelry counters. She had never been in a department store like this and it occurred to her that she had never really been anywhere. Her life had been confined to the Red Room and the Widow training facilities. A life of utter routine and vigilance. Any time she was not there she was surrounded by hardened soldiers there to teach her to love the horrors of war.

This brightly light shop was another world. Clint had to drag her away from a row of women's coats. She had never seen such pretty clothes.

"Come on, kids over here." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder to guide her. She reluctantly followed.

The kids clothing were less to her liking. They were bright and sparkly and nothing like the clothes she was used to. Clint had bought her plane clothes. She had been used to that. She liked a dark blue coat. It was cut in a retro style close to what she had seen an attractive nurse maid wear once.

Noticing her eyes linger on the coat Clint grabbed it. "You want it?"

"No." She said softly, embarrassed that he had seen her looking.

"Sure you do."

"You don't have to spend your money."

"It's not mine. It's Tony's, he's rich."

She hesitated and then looked down at the floor, not sure of what to say. "I have a coat."

He grinned. "But this one's prettier." Still seeing her troubled expression he knelt in front of her. "Listen Nat, sometimes it's okay to get things you don't need. Especially when you can afford it. It's good to save but make yourself happy once in a while."

She looked up at him, liking the words he was saying. "Okay." It was a huge demand for her to agree. It went against her teachings.

A few racks over they found a bathing suit she deemed good enough and were back out on the street shortly after. "Anything you wanna do before we go back?" He asked.

She shrugged coyly. "This is New York City. Could we see the statue of Liberty?"

He frowned, thinking about it. "I don't see why not. It'll be a bit of a drive but sure." They took another cab across town. After hearing Natasha speak the cab driver asked if they were tourists.

"Nah. I live here." Clint said. "And she lives here too."

Natasha was eager to take the ferry to Liberty Island. She was intensely curious about a monument so famous. She had heard stories of America all of her life but so far it had been vastly different from what she had heard. And the people too had been kind. It didn't make sense to her.

They stepped off the ferry and she looked up at the statue. "Can we go inside?"

"Sure." They made their way up a spiral stair case and up to the statue's crown. Clint had to hold Natasha so that she could see out of the windows. She stared out at New York across the water and then around at the metal interior. "You like the view?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes." The truth was that it was a foggy day she she could only barely see the city skyline. But still, she could imagine it was a pretty sight. She had a good imagination. She tapped his arm to tell him that he could put her down. "It would be nice to have a picture." She mused.

He grinned and pulled out his phone. "I can take a picture with this."

She looked at it curiously before pointing to the window. "Will you take one of the city, please?"

"Sure." He snapped two and they made their way back down the spiral staircase. Outside he asked her to stand in front of the statue and he took a picture of her. She did not smile and instead looked directly into the camera, eyes intense.

The intensity of the picture threw him for a moment before he realized that she seldom smiled into a camera, even as an adult. He pushed aside the thought and motioned the girl forward so they could look in a small gift center. She walked carefully, with even strides and her hands between her back, looking at everything and trying to decide something she would like, he had told her to pick something out. She looked at several pretty post cards and a small snow globe. Eventually she brought him the snow globe questioningly and he grinned, saying it was a good pick.

In the cab back she sat and shook the globe, making the snow float up and fall. It almost reminded her of home and she felt a twinge of guilt again.

You should see the statue in the winter, it looks really cool with snow every where." Clint said.

"Does it snow a lot here?"

"Yeah, in New York it does. Places like California don't get as much. Some places in the south it doesn't snow at all."

"I have never been to a place where it doesn't snow. I wonder what it's like."

He shrugged. "Sunny, warm. Nice."

She looked at him and smiled a little. She thought he was funny. "Like a beach?"

"Yeah, like Florida. Parts of Florida don't get snow. At least I'm pretty sure they don't."

She shook the globe again and then looked at the time on his phone. "I think we are out of time for swimming,"

He checked the time too and shrugged. "Well we have a suit so we can do that tomorrow."

She nodded. "You have a pool?"

"It's Tony's house, it's got everything."

She sat back. "I liked the ferry. It was lovely."

He couldn't help but smile. "Great! We'll find something else fun to do another time."

"Did you have fun?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I had a really good time."

"I am glad."

That night when they returned and ate dinner with Thor, who was the only other person to make it back for the night, Natasha was surprised to encounter a very enjoyable meal of pizza. She had not thought she would like it and found herself pleasantly surprised.

Steve returned after dinner and she watched him beadily. She still didn't know what to make of him. When he approached her she grew tense.

But out of all the things she could expect him to do he did the last. He pulled a brightly wrapped box from behind his back. "I got this for you."

She took it reluctantly and fingered the bow on top. "It is a present?" She felt her chest well up. She had never received an actual gift before. Not one with a bow and paper. She almost didn't want to open it.

"Yeah." He said with a smile. "Go on, open it."

With trembling fingers she peeled off the paper, eager not to tear it. Inside was not a box but a book instead. "The Secret Garden." She read. It was in Russian.

"I um. . . I remembered the book and I thought you might like it. Some girls I knew when I was a kid liked it a lot. It's about a little girl who has to leave her home in one place and go and live in another."

"How did you find a copy in Russian?"

"Oh I had Tony order it. I went and picked it up before coming back here."

She was really touched. Not only had he thought of her he had found one in Russian just for her. She swallowed and opened the book to look at the illustrations. They were very pretty and she loved the images of beautiful gardens and shining pools. "Thank you." She said, a slight lump in her throat.

He smiled. "Well tell me what you think when you start."

She nodded, still feeling uneasy. She had never gotten a present before and this was a really nice one. She ran her fingers over the cover and wondered if she was being unfair to Clint. He had bought her a doll and a snow globe but they hadn't come with paper and a bow. That was what made things real presents. She hugged the book to her chest just to make sure it was real.

Steve started to pick up the paper and she stopped him. "Could I keep it?"

He nodded. "Sure. You know, we used to reuse wrapping paper. I think some people still do."

"That sounds efficient." She privately thought that if she ever had anything to give to another person she would wrap it up and put a bow on it just the same so that they would know it was a present.

That night before bed she lay her new things out on the foot her her bed and sat looking at them. The book, the snow globe, the box of crayons, her pad of paper and her doll. She lay them out neatly to look at them. Tucked into her dresser was the wrapping paper and bow. She couldn't believe that these things were hers.

It made her happy and as she set the box, globe and paper aside and curled into the covers she opened the book.

"When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen."

She thought that she would like the story. Mary was a little girl like her. Separated from the world and without friends. But, she also thought, that was changing for Mary and as she turned the page she wondered, maybe it was changing for her as well.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning was spent with Tony and she thought that she had been right to disapprove of him. Everything he did was fast and he talked so very quickly. But she liked him. He was charming in his own way and intelligent. He never said uninteresting things and she learned when she was with him. He deputized her as his lab assistant for the day and she spent the morning running around the lb getting him things and then later they are lunch at an Italian restaurant in town with a very pretty woman.

She had been nervous to go to the restaurant. It was fancy and nice. She had had to put on a dress, not that she minded. She liked pretty clothes. She liked looking pretty and feeling pretty.

As They left the car which Tony insisted on driving himself. Something she had not expected, they headed in. The restaurant was hugely upscale and beautiful to look at. She had never seen such a place except in pictures.

Tony guided her through the sea of tables. "They have really great food here. The sauces are the best. Really great. It's like you can taste them just by looking." She looked at him curiously, not quite understanding.

Tony stopped at a table set for three. "I'm meeting my girlfriend here." He said. "Her name's Pepper. You'll like her. She's great." They sat down and Natasha used all of her might to remember the manners lessons she had had. She sat still with her back straight and her legs crossed primly.

Tony was less poised but she felt content to sit properly in such a nice restaurant. The people around her were dressed up in nice clothes and she payed special attention to the clothes the women wore. It made her wonder what she looked like as an adult. She hoped she was very beautiful. She thought she might ask to see a picture.

Whatever the case she was distracted from her thoughts by the arrival of Pepper. A pretty red haired woman greeted them and kissed Tony on his cheek. Natasha looked up at her seriously, watching what she did. The woman smiled at her and held out her hand and Natasha shook it delicately.

"Pepper, Natasha. I told you she would be here. Natasha this is Pepper Potts."

"A pleasure." Natasha said quietly.

Pepper smiled again and sat down. "How was China, Tony?"

He shrugged. "Boring. But they agreed to but some of our tech." Natasha looked up at him quizzically.

"Shipping company. They want to use my tech to transport goods. It's a long story but it's another overseas investment."

"You make things?"

Tony nodded. "I do and she sells them. Pepper runs the company."

Natasha nodded, trying to understand. She thought she did. "Is it a successful company?"

"Very and Pepper makes it better every day."

Pepper smiled quietly but looked as though she was enjoying the praise. "So Natasha," She said. "How do you like the tower? Is everything okay there?"

Natasha nodded. "It is very nice."

Just then the waiter came and took their drink orders. Natasha did not know what to ask for and Tony ordered her lemonade. She liked the drink. In the Red Room they mostly got water and milk. There wasn't a lot of food for fun. Or even a lot of food.

Food was the same. She did not understand the different kinds. She had never eaten Italian food before. But Tony ordered for her and she liked what he ordered immensely. As it turned out she also liked Pepper very much. It was nice to have a woman to talk to who didn't seem cold and distant. The matrons in the Red Room always were. They looked at the girls knowing what they would become and resenting them. Some of them were even from earlier experiments in the Red Room who resented being called failures. They were the cruelest. They were harsh and in a way punished the new girls. They drove them hard and were wicked people. She had always thought that was unfair.

Pepper was intelligent and gentle but sharp enough not to be a foreign creature. Still, she was compassionate and kind. Natasha liked her a lot. It was nice to have a woman to talk to. Especially one like Pepper. Tony and Bruce were geniuses and Clint was a little average to her.

For the most part Tony had to fight to keep from dominating the conversation as per his usual way. He didn't want to annoy Natasha as he sometimes thought he did the adult version. Still, it was hard to keep his mouth shut.

As lunch wore on he watched the two women talk. Natasha was curious about what Pepper did in the company and eventually talked turned to stories of the Avengers. She was thrilled to hear about how they saved the day and the different adventures they had had.

They were just about to leave and Tony was thrilled with the hit Pepper had made when they were stopped by a loud explosion down the street. He swore violently and raced out the door. People in the restaurant were yelling and Pepper ran to the door to watch, Natasha hurried after her. "Where did he go?" She asked.

Pepper grabbed her shoulder. "Tony went to see what's wrong." She looked worried.

There were sudden cries all around as Iron Man flew up into the air, red and gold suit gleaming. Pepper put a hand to her mouth as he ordered the crowd back. "Bank robbery next door. Should be an easy stop." He shouted.

Natasha stood on the curb with Pepper. Who was watching fearfully as several men with guns vacated the bank next door. One of them Shot at Tony in the sky and took off running, shoving people on the street aside. He was running towards them. At the same time Two others were shooting up into the sky at Tony. Natasha watched them with a level head. She had been in a combat zone before and this was nothing but Pepper looked worried.

As soon as the running man was in reach she dropped him. It was harder to do on an adult than a girl her own age but she managed it. She dropped him and wrestled his gun out of her hands, eventually pinning him at gun point. Up in the sky Tony had disarmed the two other shooters and the remaining men had thrown their guns down.

Pepper had fallen back in shock.

Tony removed the weapons and came to stand where Natasha stood. He looked at the small girl holding an assault rifle. It looked so natural it was creepy. He removed his visor. "Natasha. . ." He almost told her to get back. Instead he thanked her. "Good job. I'll take the gun. Thanks."

She ejected the magazine and handed both it and the gun over. She smiled at him. He was still stunned. The man on the ground looked stunned too. He had been taken down by a first grader. Well, Tony wouldn't hold it against him, this was a no ordinary first grader.

Pepper put her arms around Natasha and drew her back, she sounded winded and Natasha, calm as ever and immensely pleased with herself helped her back into the restaurant and got her water.

Pepper sat at a table and calmed down. She looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry." She said. "I get so worried when he does these things. I can't help it."

Natasha shook her head. "It's fine. I think it means you really care."

Pepper glanced at her over her glass, thinking that she had never seen a more grown up child in the world. "Thank you. You know, you were amazing out there."

Natasha smiled proudly. "I wanted to help." She paused. "Do I help as a grown up?"

Pepper who had relaxed nodded. "You help a lot. You do a lot of stuff. I'm not really sure I know all the details but you sort of have your own nitch in the team. You do a lot of the low key stuff. At least that's how Tony described it to me. He and Thor and the Hulk do most of the big flashy stuff but you tend to run things in the back ground. He says it's pretty amazing."

Natasha narrowed her eyes in thought. "So I am a spy?"

Pepper paused. "In way but you do so much more than just that."

Natasha nodded, then something occurred to her. "Who is the Hulk?"

This brought a pause. "Dr. Banner isn't always so calm. I hope you don't meet him like that."

She left it hanging and Natasha looked curious and confused. The child tried to figure out what she meant and she thought she might have some idea. She had always felt something under the surface when she talked to Bruce but she still couldn't peg what it was.

A few moments later Tony extracted himself from a crowd of people wanting his autograph and came to join them. His clothes were rumpled and his hair was a mess. He glanced down at Natasha with a kind of hesitation. "Well, um. . . thanks for the back up out there."

She smiled. "You're welcome."

He nodded and put an arm around Pepper. "Well, food should be done soon and nothing works up an appetite like a bank robbery."

They returned to their seats with all hope of an inconspicuous lunch ruined. People around the restaurant kept shooting them looks and they ended up getting their meals free which Pepper said was ridiculous as they were perfectly capable of paying.

Natasha didn't mind, she liked eating with Them and she was proud of herself. The only thing she couldn't shake was the feeling that Tony wasn't all the way thrilled with her. He didn't say anything and he had thanked her several times but she thought he was a little uneasy. Often soldiers were uneasy around her and her sisters. They didn't like the thought that children, little girls were so much better, that so much more respect would be given to them when they grew up. Some of them just didn't like that it was little girls fighting. One man had said to her that he pitied her because she would never be a real child. That had stuck with her and really sunk in. a teacher had said again that her sacrifice allowed many other children to have wonderful childhoods and that made her a hero.

She was distracted from her thoughts by the arrival of their desert. As it turned out it was delicious. She decided that she quite liked Italian food and would have to eat more of it.

When they left they all returned to the tower together and Natasha went to get her doll to show Pepper. Pepper had red hair too and she thought she might like it. Pepper took the doll with grace and played with her until Tony came back with drinks for all of them and sat down seriously.

"Natasha, um I'd like to talk to you about this afternoon at the bank."

She looked up at him carefully.

"You did a remarkable thing and not many girls your age could stop a grown man."

Natasha nodded seriously.

"Natasha, if something like that happens again, could you please promise me that you won't try and help?"

This puzzled her. She had thought that he would have been grateful to have her help. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, nothing like that." Pepper said, scratching her back affectionately. "But we worry."

"Did you think that I would not be able to stop him?"

"Well, we didn't know." Tony said seriously. "Like I said, not many girls could do what you did."

She looked at him with the simplest expression of confusion. "But I am different from other girls."

The very fact that she knew this bothered him. It would have been normal for her to be shocked that she wasn't like other girls it would have been better if she was just a little upset but she wasn't. She looked perfectly calm.

Not knowing what to do, Tony excused her and sat back with his arm around Pepper. "I'm gonna have to tell the others." He said.

She glanced at him. "I know. Do you know what you're going to say to them?"

"Guess I'll just tell them what happened. Group decision."

Pepper squeezed his arm. "It scared me when she did that but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Of course she could do that. She's amazing as an adult. I guess they trained her from childhood."

Tony clenched his fist. "That's not right."

"I know."

They sat for a while before moving to get back to work. At the present there was nothing they could do.


	8. Chapter 8

That night Tony told the others what had happened. An air of uncomfortableness settled over them. Everyone seemed to be thinking bout what to do but no one was coming up with anything. They all were sitting quietly with out looking at each other.

"I guess all we can do is try and make things normal for Natasha. Not ignore it, but try and get her to focus on other things." Bruce said.

"I guess." Steve said, resting his chin on his fist in a defeated way.

"If we can find anything about what they did to train her that would be helpful." Bruce said quietly.

"If she was trained as a warrior even as a small girl then we should not stop her training completely. I think it would only anger her." Thor said. "Perhaps if she was given some time in the gym every now and then it would help her find this place more to her liking."

"That might be a good idea." Bruce nodded. "It might get her some exercise too."

"I can take her tomorrow." Clint said. "I promised her we'd go swimming anyway."

"Alright, we'll leave her to you then. If you need anything don't hesitate to call one of us."

Clint grinned. "I think I've done okay so far."

"Actually I think you've done a great job so far." Bruce interjected. "She really likes you."

Clint smiled, pleased with himself and glad that her liking him wasn't just in his head. He sat back with the others and they talked a little more about what they knew. Natasha had never been very open about the Red Room. They knew what it was called. They had fought a few other products from the Room before. Still, they knew almost nothing.

As the day wore on they called Natasha back for dinner and she proudly told them all about how she had helped stop a robbery. Some part of her registered that she had done something good with her training. She had helped people. She was proud of that.

The others told her they were proud too but she sensed some hesitance. Maybe they were unsure of how to react. She knew not every one was okay with a girl who could do what she could. Some of them pitied her, some feared her and others just felt disgusted that a child had learned to kill.

Steve got her talking a little about her combat practice. She didn't mind. She could talk seriously and intelligently about it.

He was delicate in the matter. He tried very hard not to sound shocked or disproving. Instead he kept a straight face and engaged her in as adult a manner as he could. Still, it wasn't easy to listen to a six year old talk about learning to kill.

"Well I'm the best." She said proudly. "Everyone says so. Even when they don't want to. When they taught us to shoot I hit the target before anyone else learned to. Even Alipova admitted I was better than she was." There was a smug look on Natasha's face. "She's not as good as she thinks she is."

"So you're the best?" Steve asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. Bucky had been young but he hadn't been as you as her."

"Yup."

"Are there any rewards when you do something well?" Bruce asked, eyes narrowed.

"No. We are given everything equal."

"So equal food, equal shelter?" He pressed.

She nodded. "Yes." The she looked troubled. "But the food is never good and if we do badly or don't do what we're told we don't get it. Sometimes we're punished. One time Sofiya got caught trying to escape. She was beaten up by Mariya."

"Who's Mariya?" Tony asked, leaning forward.

"Mariya was supposed to be a Widow. There were girls before us but they failed. I think Mariya is angry that we haven't failed like she did. She takes it out on us." Resentment crossed Natasha's face. "Sometimes she takes my food or slaps me when I haven't done anything and she's always mean. She calls me ugly and says I'm going to fail. But I'm not going to. She's the failure."

"She's sounds like a very unpleasant person." Steve said quietly.

Natasha nodded. "I don't like her but she's not as bad as Alisa. She's the worst. She's always mean and she doesn't just hit, she stabbed Viktoriya one time cause Vicktoriya didn't want to fight Sofiya anymore. We were supposed to be sparring. Vicky wanted to stop because Sofiya had already beaten her up a whole bunch. Alisa got mad and beat her up a whole bunch and then she stabbed her. She got in trouble with the doctors for that. They said she got carried away."

"Who are the doctors?" Bruce asked quietly.

This time Natasha looked uncomfortable. "I don't like them. They're so cold. They never smile and they always take a lot of blood. They stick me with needles and then I'm always dizzy and tired after. They also electrocuted me one time. I asked them to stop but they just kept doing it. They wouldn't even tell me why." The others winced and her voice got lower. "Sometimes they make me run for hours cause they wanna see how long I can do it. They said I ran longer and faster than anyone else but I was so tired I didn't care."

Clint reached out and brushed a hand over the back of her head, as much for himself as for her. "That's awful."

A moment of vulnerability flashed over her features and she leaned into his touch. "Yeah." It was barely a whisper. "Sometimes I wish I didn't have to do this stuff. I wish I could be like other girls." Then she added. "I like being here. You guys are really nice." Her face flushed when she said it but she meant it.

Steve smiled and squeezed her hand. "We like having you here."

She gave him a smile back and although it was small she was glad to hear it. "Thank you." After that she excused herself from the table and went and got ready for bed. She was glad they enjoyed having her around.

They spent the night talking and when it was done and she had gone on to bed Steve sat back, rubbing his face. "I um. . . she talks like it's all so normal."

Tony who was studying the woodgrain of the table looked down at the floor. "Well it explains why she's so good at what she does."

"She's a strong person not to have let this ruin her." Thor said.

They all sat quietly, it was a strange and awful story and yet she had been proud of her accomplishments and spoken of everything so normally that for a second she almost seemed like any other girl, talking of her accomplishments.

That night as Steve lay in bed all he could think of was how useless he felt. He wished there was something he could do to help Natasha and yet she was afraid of him. Not only that she seemed to hate him. When he had gotten her talking about the Red Room she had almost been bragging.

He had never really wished to be someone else before. Even when he was young and trying to get into the army. He had just wished to be different then but now it was who he was that she didn't like and he wished he could change that.

He kept thinking of all the things he could do to make her like him. He had bought her gifts and been as kind as he could possibly be but so far she had only become civil with him.

He fell asleep with lots of half baked plans in his head, trying to think of every way he could to make the girl like him and he dreamed of the stories she had told. Of a little red haired girl standing in the snow. Of blood in the snow and on the snow and how utterly calm she was.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning Clint did as he had promised. The two of them went swimming.

Natasha had never gone swimming for fun before. She had had swimming lessons of course and she knew that some time in the future she would take lessons in underwater diving and even combat but she could at least swim and she could swim fast. The girls were always in competition and she was almost always the winner. But she had always liked swimming lessons. She liked being in the water and the chance to do it for fun was very appealing.

She and Clint splashed around for a while, she listened as he told her stories of fighting an alien race called Skrulls and a robot called Ultron. He told her about fighting other villains and saving the day and then when she was seriously swimming laps he splashed her and swam away.

Momentarily stunned, she treadded water before he dived under and popped up in front of her again, grinning. On impulse she splashed him back and he kicked away laughing. She found herself laughing too. A grown man acting like a little boy was kind of funny. She had never seen one act that way before. She splashed him again and chased after him. After a while she was laughing freely without thinking.

He was laughing too and it was not until she slowed that he decided to get upon the diving board and entertain her a little. He did some trick dives and made her clap before they both moved to the hot tub in the corner. Leave it to Tony to have every feature installed.

Natasha liked the hot tub. It was like a giant bath tub and the heat felt good. It seemed to make Clint slow and tired but not her and she ran back and forth between the pool and the tub, experimenting with the temperatures.

Clint watched her from the corner of the pool he was lounging in. she ran sometimes gleefully from water to water and sometimes with a face of the utmost severity. It made him smile because it was so genuinely childlike. Occasionally she would cry out in joy when the water was wonderfully warm or chillingly cold. He laughed and splashed her a few times. She would always splash back and smile triumphantly. He could see the knowing, victorious smile she would wear as an adult forming. She always looked so cunning. This girl child was only learning to be so. She was still young.

Once she slipped and fell and sat for a moment in surprise but he hadn't needed to go to her, she had been up the next moment running again. He had called out to her asking if she thought running might have been the reason she'd fallen but she didn't respond and he was pretty sure she was ignoring him.

They ate lunch in their swim suits, drying off only as much as the towels would allow. Then after quickly changing they turned on a tv program he'd noticed she liked. She liked old black and white tv dramas. He guessed they were closer to her time although she had shown no dislike to any of the more modern shows she had seen.

When the show ended a Star Trek episode began and he had seized at the opportunity to get her into a new show that wasn't quite so boring to him. She immediately seized on the character Chekov, laughing at his poor accent but liking him just the same and saying it was fun to see a Russian character.

A while later she began drawing again and he smiled, glad to see her having such a good day. He had been a little worried about how the others would react after the robbery the day before. They were all on edge and panicking over how to treat her but he thought that he was doing just fine and he planned to keep on doing what he was doing for a while. Just spending time with her and having fun. They both were having a good time now and although she hadn't opened up to Steve yet he saw some change. She was definitely more trusting now.

When it got a little later they headed out to the park again and Natasha played on the swings for a while. The girls from last time weren't there and he was glad of it. He didn't want any trouble and they had been so rude.

He sat back on a park bench messing with his phone, Natasha was entertaining herself. He continued playing with his phone, he was trying to download a new app but was having difficulty. Quite suddenly he felt something cold and hard press against the back of his head. He froze, knowing instantly what it was.

"Don't move." A voice said. Russian accent. His mind had time to register only that before he was pistol whipped out of consciousness. Across the park another two men were walking towards Natasha. She stopped swinging and looked at them.

"Natasha Romanoff." One of them said. She stood and glanced at Clint, feeling her heart skip a beat when she saw him slumped over the bench with a gun pointed at his head. She looked up at them men. "Come with us." One of them said in Russian.

"Are you going to kill him?" She asked, also in Russian.

"He's coming with us."

She glanced at Clint. "Are you from the Red Room?"

"Enough questions."

She glanced down the street where she could see the tower a little ways off and she thought of all of her things and the people she had met and suddenly she didn't want to go with them. She didn't want to leave with these people. She didn't want to go back.

"If you try and run we will kill him."

She shot another look at Clint and then up at the man's face. "I will not run."

He lead her to an unmarked utilities van and she was helped inside. Clint was thrown unceremoniously in beside her, his hands bound with plastic ties. Two of the men got in front and another two got in the back with her. She watched them quietly.

"We're going to blindfold you." One of them said after a while. She held still while he did so, if only to protect Clint. She was lead out into an alley. It felt like that. Gravel under her feet and into a building. She wanted to take the blindfold off but they stopped her until she was in another room, then the door was shut and she was alone.

She took the blindfold off and looked around. A bare bulb hung over her head and there was only a small, sealed window. Chain-link fencing on the outside. She was in a dirty closet. She sat on an over turned mop bucket and listened though the door. She could hear people speaking in Russian but they used no terms she was familiar with. Nothing that would affiliate them with the Red Room or the Widow program. They talked about money a lot. Someone mentioned a buyer.

She had a distinct feeling that they wanted to sell her back to the Red Room. Fools, the Red Room would never pay. The moment they found out these men had her they would come and they would kill every one of them and if they found him, they would kill Clint too. She didn't like that thought.

She straightened out her dress, tossed her hair back and began pacing. She had to find a way to save not only herself but Clint as well. She had never been in a more deadly situation before because before she had never had someone she wanted to protect. And now she didn't think she could live with herself if something happened to Clint.


	10. Chapter 10

Clint awoke with his hands bound and his head throbbing. People were talking but they were speaking a language he didn't understand. He cursed silently and looked around. He was tied to a support bean in what looked like a warehouse. He felt stupid for getting caught so easily. But then his thoughts registered that he could not see Natasha. He had a horrible gut wrenching stab of guilt. if anything had happened to her. . . he shook his head. it was too soon for that kind of thinking. he didn't know anything.

"Hey!" He yelled, trying to get the attention of the men across the room. "Hey, where is she?" He stained at his bonds, cutting his wrists as he did so.

"Be quiet." One of the men said.

Clint struggled some more. "What did you do with her?"

"Someone shut him up."

He fell back as a man came at him with a tazer. "Okay okay! I'll be quiet." But the man didn't listen and he yelped until he passed out.

From inside her closet Natasha could hear Clint yell. Well that meant he was alive. It made her happy. She frowned and sat back down on her bucket. These men were fools. They would die quickly and painfully and, she felt her insides twist, she would be back in the Red Room. Back to grueling training and rationed food that never filled her stomach. Back to cold looks and unkind words. Back to being tolerated only because she was the best. She didn't want it. She looked around her closet cell but found only the bucket and a pile of rotting shingles.

If she hadn't been so well trained she might have cried.

She sat for what must have been an hour before her door rattled open and she was faced with one of the men. He was holding an open can of soup. "Supper." He said.

She took it from him and looked up at his face. "They will kill you." She said. "You know that don't you?"

He sneered. "I'd like to see them try."

"And if you kill him, I will kill you." Something in the way she said it made him frown and look almost worried. That made her glad and she sat back down when he was gone. She drank her soup in silence and tossed the can in the corner. She would get out. She would rescue Clint. She had to. He was the first person to ever really and truly be kind to her. To ever really and truly like her and he was the first person she had ever really and truly liked. She wanted to be kind and good and to be around him. She felt a tear slide down her cheek. She wanted to keep on being good and wearing pretty clothes and to talk about pretty things and see pretty things and eat good food with people who were always asking what nice things they could do for her and she hadn't been able to do nearly enough nice things back yet. She had to escape before the Red Room came. She had to warn the others. After all of the stories she had heard they had to be able to save Clint. They just had to.


	11. Chapter 11

When Steve arrived he was surprised to see both Clint and Natasha gone. JARVIS said they had gone down to the park and he wondered down after them but found only a few boys playing base ball. He frowned, looking around. He wondered if he had just missed them when he spotted a phone lying under a park bench. He recognized Clint's phone case and reached for it, looking at the half loaded game on the screen. He looked around again.

People these days were glued to their phones. No one just up and left one lying around. They were expensive. He hurried back to the tower to alert the others.

Once in the briefing room he filled the others in, letting them know the estimated time frame and where he had found the phone.

"I think someone kidnapped Clint and Natasha. I don't have proof but I they were probably after Natasha." Steve said.

"Why go after her, she's a little kid?" Tony asked.

"Maybe that's why. There are a lot of people who would pay money to see her dead. Child or not. And others who would pay money to control her. There are plenty of organizations that wouldn't mind having their own Black Widow to mold. Even remnants of the Red Room would like to get their hands on her. Her showing off at the bank probably outed her to the public. I'm just surprised that something happened so soon." Bruce said.

Tony frowned. He looked as though he had been thinking all that but hoping against it. "He shouldn't have taken her to the park."

"It's not time to point fingers." Bruce said.

"Bruce is right." Steve interjected. We need to work on recovery."

"JARVIS, scan for any new material on the web. Anything and everything relating to Natasha. If even a little spark pops up I wanna know about it." Tony said.

"I think the rest of us should start scowering the city." Steve said. "Alert anyone you run into. I know Daredevil would be good at something like this. Get the Fantastic Four on the ball too and anyone you run into."

"I'm going to scan face recognition at all air ports in the city." Tony said quickly.

Steve nodded. "Okay. I'm going to go out and hit the streets." In his heart he knew that looking on foot was probably the least useful thing they had going for them. At times he wished there was a psychic on the team just for occasions like this. He sighed heavily and departed.

Out on the street he returned to the park and looked for skid marks or anything that looked like a car had peeled out. Nothing.

Natasha slept with one eye open that night. She couldn't help it. She was too worried and anyway, wasn't that was soldiers always told her to do? Sleep as little as possible and always with one eye open. She listened for the times Clint tried to talk and the times he stayed silent. She thought they were probably knocking him out. She didn't want to think how. She knew it had to hurt.

By the next morning she had gathered a little more information. They were indeed trying to sell her back to the Red Room. Or at least a splinter of it. Something they said made her think the Red Room didn't exist any more and as much as that might have made her feel free she was sure anyone similar would be just as bad.

They had beaten Clint. She had heard them go at it. They had wanted to know how she was a child again. She was proud of him that he didn't tell but she wished he would just pass out already. When they had given up one of them mentioned killing him. She had frozen up at that.

"When we get rid of her we should kill him. He's an avenger. We don't need one of them kicking around."

She had beat on the door after that. She had called them every foul name in the book. Every foul awful name and word she had ever heard used. She even cursed in English when she ran out in Russian. She cursed them and their mothers and fathers and their children. She cursed their sisters and brothers and even their pets until one of them had come in and slapped her. She struck back, jabbing him in his throat. He fell back wheezing but then someone had shut the door and she could hear them talking about was an awful girl she was. She was glad they didn't like her.

She sat back with her cheek stinging and her heart hating. She wished them death and she told them so. Told them explicitly in every childish way that she could.

When her temper got the better of her she ended up smashing the window. Someone had yelled at her and come in, examining the damage while keeping her at gun point. Eventually they decided that the room was still safe because of the fencing and left her with only a swat to the side of the head. She had barely felt it as she strained to see Clint in the outer room and all too soon the door was shut again.

She reached up and began pushing at the fencing. It was refusing to move and she spent the day trying to force it. She only made her hands hurt. It didn't seem to matter what she did. In fury she kicked at the door some more before settling down. That night she was given another can of soup to eat. When she was done eating she threw it at the door and cursed them again.

She slept poorly. She was worried about Clint. She didn't know if they were feeding him. She worried that they had really hurt him.

She was angry too. Her dress was dirty now and her room was cold. She was sure she had a bruise on her cheek. Her room stank because there was no toilet. She was hungry more now and they were robbing her of her new life. They were trying to send her back and make her miserable in the process. She had never truly hated someone before and to feel it now, for the first time it was an all consuming feeling. It was powerful and raw and scared her.

This hatred surpassed kicking and screaming, it was something so much more. She wanted to hurt them. To make them suffer. She could do it. She knew she could. But now she wanted to. She wanted to make them pay for hurting Clint and for what they had taken from her and all of this made her cry. It was the first time also that she could ever remember breaking down into tears. Tears because she was sad, hurt and scared and tears because she was so angry she didn't know what to do. Tears because she was losing what she had gained. Tears because she really didn't want to go back.

She found herself sobbing and not quietly. She was sobbing loudly and grossly unlike she had never done before.

Outside Clint could hear her cry and it broke his heart and made him angry. He strained at his bonds again, not caring if he was tazed or hit over the head. He hated feeling so useless. He hated not being able to help her. He felt pathetic.

Every inch of him hurt now but hearing her cry was worse than any beating. The people who had kidnapped them were watching him. he knew soon that they would get tired of seeing him strain and they would taze him again. he didn't care. he stared a the wood of the closet door as though he could see through it and felt the ties on his wrists cut him again. he willed Natasha to know that everything would be alright. the others would come. they always did. the two of them were safe.

His movement caught the attention of one of their captors and the man stood and walked towards him. Clint strained his bonds again and groaned as he knew was what coming. A sudden sharp, searing pain where the tazer connected with his ribs and then a jolting spasm of electricity. His head hurt andhe lost control of his body. in the past two days he'd been tazed several times but he never got used to the feeling of being stiff with no control. it hurt and just as the pain grew to be too much he blacked out.

On the third day Tony got a blip on his radar. Someone was messaging someone that they had the Black Widow captive. He began a long and convoluted process of tracking the sender. He would catch these people and the only worry he had was that Hawkeye might be dead.

Steve had been glad to hear it. It was progress and it was more than he had made. He had to cling to it. It was all that they had.


	12. Chapter 12

It was the fourth day that Tony tracked the sender down. He didn't care about the who so much as the where. Where the emails were being sent from. He tracked the IP address down to a warehouse in New Jersey and that was all he needed to suit up.

He and the rest headed off, Bruce barely keeping the Hulk in check. He thought he would tag along mostly for back up. The whole team wasn't really needed for a few thugs and anyway the sight of the Hulk was usually enough to make anyone pee their pants.

Steve forced his way bodily through the warehouse doors without ever braking stride. He came bursting through to a group of startled thugs and was met with gun fire. Several bullets ricocheted off of his shield as he forced his way up to one of the men and used his whole weight to send the man flying. Tony flew in after him and took out two of them men at once, using a repulser cannon to send them crashing into each other. Thor took out the last with ease and it was only a second later that Bruce lost control and the Hulk was let free. Evidently however the monster had taken a protective interest in the child because he turned his sights on the last conscious man and snarled at him. "Girl." He grunted.

Steve grabbed the man's shirtfront and shook him. "Where is she?"

The man blabbered in Russian and Steve shook him again. "The little girl, Black Widow. Where is she?"

Tony looked around and spotted Clint unconscious and cuffed to a pole. He hurried over and scanned for a pulse. "Looks like they beat him up pretty bad. I'm reading some broken ribs and maybe a concussion."

Steve turned the man so he could see the Hulk fuming outside the warehouse. "You heard about my friend? Well he's not happy and if you don't tell me where she is in the next few seconds I'm gonna let him work some anger out on you."

The man shook and raised a trembling arm to point at the closet. "Good man." Steve said, dropping him rather hard. He stood and strode across to the closet and unlatched the door. Inside was dark and grimy and Natasha sat against the far wall on her bucket. She had a bruise on her cheek and looked wary.

Steve knelt and took her shoulders, looking her over for injury. "I'm fine." She said softly. "Is Clint okay?"

He nodded. "He'll be fine.

She looked up into his eyes and then peered past him. "You saved me."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Natasha."

She looked up at him again and suddenly all of the horrible things she had heard about Captain America just couldn't be true. They just couldn't be. He lead her out and she ran to Clint's side. He was being hauled onto a stretcher by Thor and Tony. They paused long enough for her to stare at Clint's face before moving him on. She looked back at Steve who had followed her and then out the front doors. She wanted out of the warehouse. She didn't think she could take another minute in the dirty place.

She hurried out the doors after them and stopped in her tracks. There was a man waiting outside but he wasn't really a man. He was something else. He was huge and green and he was watching her. She looked up at him wide eyed, sensing danger. He looked down at her, scanning her face and the bruise on her cheek and how she was covered in grime from sleeping on the floor.

His mind didn't make those connections. He wasn't that smart but he understood on base. He knew a bruise meant she had been struck and the dirt meant bad and he had seen Clint and known that he had been beaten and now he wanted to hurt the people responsible. He was simple. Things made him angry and he wanted to fix that.

Natasha looked up at him with wide eyes, not sure what she was seeing. Steve kept a wary eye on them. He never knew what to expect from the Hulk.

Hulk reached out and with surprising gentleness touched her cheek. She reached up and touched his hand. Steve was on edge. The last thing he needed was for the Hulk to slip and hurt her but to his surprised the monster only looked down at her with the closest thing to serene as had ever graced his features. And suddenly the monster was shrinking and Bruce was in his place. Tired and worn looking even though the Hulk hadn't done anything. She looked at him with wide, confused eyes but whatever questions she had she pushed aside and followed the others onto a quin jet.

Back at the tower Tony had Clint dumped in the med lab and Bruce began binding his ribs and cleaning his cuts. Natasha went and took a bath. She scrubbed the grime away and combed her hair, an odd feeling in her chest. She didn't know what to think now. She knew she didn't want to return to the Red Room. She wanted to stay with the Avengers. She liked them and they liked her and that meant that she had betrayed her sisters. She was a failure to the Red Room.

She sat on her bed and tried to sort out her thoughts. She had cried for someone. She had never done that before and now she wanted to stay. To stay where people were kind and good to her. Where she could do the things she wanted and where she had learned to care for others. She hoped Clint was okay. It was her fault he was hurt. They had been after her.

She sighed and went to see how he was doing. She ran into Thor who said that Clint was awake and asking for her. She smiled and took his hand as he lead her to another floor. She had never really been one to take an adult's hand before but she had seen that it was what children were supposed to do and it didn't feel awful. It felt nice when his while hand engulfed hers and she could only hold onto a few fingers.

Clint was sitting up in bed with is arms around his knees talking to Steve and Tony. She hung back and watched him for a moment. He had bandages on his head and chest. She worried that he was seriously hurt but he smiled when he saw her and motioned for her to come near. "I'm glad you're okay." He said.

She didn't ask if it hurt, she knew it must. Instead she asked how bad it hurt.

He shrugged and rolled his eyes. "I've had worse." He caught her worried expression. "Put it this way, I've been in a whole body cast before."

"Why?"  
"I kind of fell off a roof after getting beat up."

Steve put a hand to his head as though he as getting a head ache. "Full body casts aren't normally something to brag about."

Clint shrugged. "Just trying to put it in perspective." He reached out a hand and brushed it over her head. "So cheer up. You're okay, right?"

She nodded. A few slaps were nothing, she was tough. She looked him over again, making sure he wasn't lying about being okay. She decided he was telling the truth and sat on the end of his bed. She thought she would make him a card when she got back to her room.

That night they ate dinner quietly, each preoccupied with their own thoughts. Tony was mulling over the new information that Natasha' being a child was public news, Steve was in much the same thought of mind. He was wondering how much time they had before something like this happened again and what they could do to prevent it. Across from him Thor was watching Natasha carefully. She was eating quickly. Glad to have a full stomach again. Bruce was having to help Clint a little. He had two broken fingers from struggling and his wrists were badly cut. He was holding his fork awkwardly and wincing when he moved his wrist. Bruce had a strong feeling he was exaggerating but didn't feel like making him stop. There just wasn't any point to it and Tony had already shot his mouth off, criticizing Clint for letting them get kidnapped. That had ended in a small fight and now everyone was being careful.

After dinner Tony departed for his lab and the rest of them took up seats in the living room. To Natasha it was very good that things returned to normal. She was glad. She was happy to be back and she had a renewed appreciation for the place. She had almost lost it and now to have it back, just the way it had been was almost more than she could believe. She was beginning to feel that she belonged here. It was a nice place with nice people. She was glad to be back and as she sat she became determined to show them her gratitude.


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning she worked on not only a get well card for Clint but a very special drawling for Steve. If she was going to show her gratitude and show that she truly did not wish to return to the Red Room then she had to start by making amends with Captain America. She felt ashamed of the way she had behaved towards him. He hadn't been so bad. Really, he had been quite kind to her and gone out of his way to be so. And he had been the one to save her. Not by himself of course but he had been the one to open the door and there had been such a powerful anger in his voice when he'd asked where she was. He had really wanted to rescue her. That had meant a lot.

Now to thank him she wanted to make something truly special. If she had had money she would have bought him something but she didn't and so she knew she would have to make it instead. She thought for a long time about what to make. She knew he would like anything patriotic and from what she surmised from his personality he was exceedingly humble so perhaps he would not like a picture of himself. She stared at her snow globe and began a slow job of drawling the Statue of Liberty. She liked what she was drawling. It was turning out rather nice. She played with the green ad the blue, trying to get it the right color. When she couldn't she just used green. She hoped that wouldn't be a problem, she really wanted to make a good gift.

When she was finished she thought she'd make it personal and add some snow like in her globe. She wanted it to look nice and with a black crayon made little snow flakes and little piles of snow. She thought it looked rather pretty. She felt confident that he would at least like it, even if it would never be the nicest thing he'd ever gotten. She came away satisfied and hid it under her bed. She would give it to him when the time was right.

After that she spent some time reading and drew close to finishing her book. She liked it. The girl in the story had changed dramatically, she had found a home. Natasha felt that she could relate. Her new resolve to become friends with these people and enjoy her home had not gone into effect yet. It would start with her giving the drawling to Steve. She had never given a gift before and the promise of it scared her a little.

After she finished the book she set it carefully aside and went to go and visit Clint. He was stuck in the tower. Steve had said it we best he wait a while before getting back into action. Now he was stuck on the couch with nothing to do and a growing sense of cabin fever. Natasha regretted that they could no longer go to the park. She went and found him making a sloppy sandwich and after moving the ingredients to a lower counter she finished making the sandwich for him. He thanked her and ate one handed, avoiding his broken fingers.

She made herself something too and they sat and talked. He apologized for not keeping her safe but she didn't blame him and she told him so. He thanked her and they moved to watch some television.

She spent dinner eyeing Steve carefully, trying to decide when the perfect moment to give him his present was. He caught her eye a few times and smiled at her. She gave a small, thin lipped smile back. Clint was working a fork with his uninjured hand next to her. She helped him a few times although she suspected that he was playing up his coordination problem to be funny.

Bruce and Tony were talking quietly and Thor was reading a newspaper. She looked around and marveled at how normal everything seemed. Everyone had gone back to the way things had been and as she tried to think about how she was going to get Steve his present.

After dinner she went and retrieved the picture and stood in the hallway motioning for Steve to come out and meet her. He left the others to clean up the dishes and went to meet her, looking worried. "What's wrong?"

She looked down at her shoes. "I um. . . I made you something." Her heart was beating fast.

His worried look shifted to a smile. "What is it?"

Feeling her face flush she held out the picture to him, not making eye contact. "Do you like it?

He took the picture and smiled at her. He looked genuinely happy. She studied his face, waiting for a response. "This is really amazing."

The truth was that he received pictures from children all of the time but this one was special. This one was from a little girl he knew. He beamed at her.

She smiled a little herself. "I hope you like it. I-I have never given a gift before." She flushed with embarrassment. "I wanted it to be special."

"It is. I can tell you put a lot of time into this." He hesitated a moment before adding: "And I'm honored that I'm the first person you chose to give something to. That means a lot to me also. I think it makes the gift even more important."

She felt a warmth spread though her. She was glad. She had given her first gift and it felt wonderful. It was a truly beautiful feeling to give. She was immensely pleased with herself and she looked up at him and gave him a big smile, something she did not do all that often.

He knelt down and put his hands on her shoulders and a second later she reached out and hugged him. "I am sorry I did not trust you. I was wrong. You are a good person."

He patted the back of her head. "You're a good kid too, Natasha."

"I like the name Natasha. I think I will make it the new me."

He grinned a little wider. "There's nothing wrong with the way you are."

"I am going to be more trusting of Americans." She said. "And of you."

He ruffled her hair and smiled serenely. "You've done a great job already. I never felt like you really hated me."

Now with the mastery of gift giving under her belt she went to give Clint his get well card. It was an apology on her end for him getting hurt. He thanked her and kissed the top of her head and she felt warmth from the kiss spread down through her body. Everything was going exceedingly well. She sat on the end of his hospital bed. He was being kept on the med floor at night, just in case. Bruce had said he had some internal damage and wanted him to sleep where he could be monitored .

They talked for a while. She new he was restless and having company helped. He always seemed cheerful around her. At one point he had asked her a few questions. He had wanted to know how badly she had been hurt during the kidnapping but she assured him she was fine and she was. There was no real damage. In a way she felt so much better now than she had before. She had assurance that the people in the tower really wanted her there and she herself had decided to stay. She wasn't quite sure what change she was bringing about in herself but she knew there was one. She would be more positive for one thing. She knew that. And she would trust them. They had earned that.

She told Clint about the book she had read and he said he'd tell Cap to think of another. He said he didn't really know that many stories a little girl would like. He hadn't read much as a kid. Some comics occasionally but reading had bored him. He smiled when she talked and she always felt like he liked listening, no matter how trivial her words were.

When she finally said good night she kissed his forehead and told him to get better. He smiled and laughed and said that he would since she told him to. She knew it was a joke but she smiled just the same and held him to it.

After she was done bathing and combing her hair she heard a knock on her bedroom door and went and answered. Steve was there and she was smiling. "Clint said you were looking for something new to read so I went out and bought you some books. That okay?"

She looked up, startled. "You had time?"

"I didn't go far. There's a book store around the corner." He came and sat on the end of her bed and sat a bag down. "I stocked up." He began taking books out. "I picked mostly titles I knew from when I was a kid. I asked the lady there too and she gave me a few others written by the same lady as the 'Garden' book." He handed over titles like A little Princess and Little Lord Fauntleroy and then proceeded to produce copies of Winnie the Pooh and a few other odd titles. "I don't know if you're too old for that one." He tapped Winnie the Pooh. Curiously she picked up a set of books called Madeline and flipped through the first one's pages.

"I like this one. She has red hair like me."

He brightened. "Then from now on I'll look for books about girls with red hair."

She touched her own hair slightly. One of the other girls in the Red Room had said red hair was ugly. She had hit the girl and no one had insulted her again. "Are there a lot of books about red heads?" She asked curiously.

Steve shrugged. "I can think of a few."

She took the books and set them in order of what she wanted to read. They were all in English and he apologized for that, saying he had not been able to find any in Russian. She said it was okay and that she could read English if not well.

They said goodnight after that she she began work on the books, starting with what seemed the easiest first. The girls in the Red Room had heard English spoken from day one but reading it was a recent feat. They had only been learning for a year. In fact they had started language as soon as they were five, working with English and French. She knew that they would start more when they turned seven. She was good with language. She had learned things easily and she was proud of that.

As she settled back in Bed she couldn't help smiling. It had been a very good day.


	14. Chapter 14

The next few days left Natasha in Clint's care. He was out of the med lab now but was still stuck in the tower. They spent the time watching tv and playing checkers. She drew for a while and for most of the days he was indulgent and she had the run of the tower. The others came and went and everyone was pleasant and friendly. English was becoming much easier for her to read. She could do so with speed now and she flew through the Madeline books. She liked them a lot but thought she might like the longer books better. There wasn't a lot of plot in the Madeline ones and she was looking forward to a good story.

Clint read to her occasionally but for the most part he just seemed to like watching television. He took her to the park a few times with no new troubles. On a Tuesday they went and she played on the slides.

The group of girls from before were there again and she watched them play. She remembered being insulted by them and a flash of anger went through her. They were watching her too and one of them was laughing.

With her temper getting the better of her she dismounted the slide and marched over to them. "What are you laughing at?" She demanded.

They stopped and looked at her. There was a measure of hostility in the lead girl's eyes. She lowered her eye lids and glared at Natasha. Natasha remembered her name was Haley. Haley made a face. "Is that your doll?" She pointed at the Raggedy Ann doll cradled in the the crook of Natasha's arm.

Natasha clutched the doll to her chest defensively. "What's wrong with her?"

The other girls snickered. "Why don't you get a Barbie?" Natasha looked at their dolls. They weren't bad looking but she thought that she wouldn't want to sleep with one, it would be too pokey.

"Because I like this one." She knew that they would laugh at and they did. She was close to taking a swing at Haley now.

"I think that's stupid. Your doll is ugly." Haley said.

Natasha was not used to disrespect from other children. She had always been quick to stop anyone making fun of her in the Red Room. There they knew she was the best and she never let them forget. Here. . . she glared at Haley.

One of the other girls laughed at her and said something about her doll having an ugly color of hair.

Haley laughed. "It's ugly 'cause it's her hair color."

And that was it. Natasha hit her across the face, sending the girl crashing backwards. In an instant she was on top of her. She pinned her down and slapped her. "Stop making fun of me!" She yelled. One of the other girls shrieked and Haley in all her uncoordinated skill pulled at her hair. They wrestled on the ground. Natasha had only begun her hand to hand training recently and although she was much better than Haley would ever be the girl still managed to get in some hits. They rolled and clawed at each other. Natasha tore the knee of her jeans but didn't care. Now that she was in a fight she couldn't walk away. Haley was hitting back and the other girls were yelling. She yelped herself as Haley pulled at a fist full of her hair. She kicked at her in retaliation and the two of them rolled into a mud puddle.

Across the park Clint looked up and after a moment of dumbfound ed parilization he sprang to his feet. He saw the other little girl's mother shrieking along with the other kids' moms. "Oh damn it!" He swore. All of the children on the playground had clustered around to watch the fight. He rushed towards them in time to see both girls rip hair from each other's heads. Natasha punched Haley across the face and rolled until she was on top.

"Nat, Stop!" He yelled.

"Is that your child?!" A woman demanded.

"Um. . . yeah."

"Get that little monster away from my daughter!"

Clint hesitated, wanting to argue with the woman before yelling Natasha'e name again. "Natasha knock it off. You win, come on." He had no idea what to do in the situation. He reached out a hand and grabbed her fist to stop her from hitting the angry girl pinned underneath her.

"Knock it off."

Kicking and struggling he pulled her off and hauled her a few yards away, getting kicked in the shins by Haley in the process. Then Natasha went limp in his arms and glared at the other girl who's mother was shrieking and trying to wipe mud off of her daughter.

Natasha was limp in his arms and one glance told him that her jaw was set.

Once the woman was sure her daughter was fine she marched over to Clint and Natasha and began yelling. "What do you think you're doing?" She demanded. "If you can't teach your daughter to behave in public then you shouldn't bring her to the park!"

Clint glanced at the staunchly unrepentant Natasha. She took covered in mud with her jaw set and her eyes fierce. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I'm sure Natasha wouldn't have hit her for no reason. . ." He broke off, facing a wave of fury from the mother.

"Are you trying to pin this on my daughter? That little monster started this. I was watching."

He shrunk back a little. "That's not what I'm saying. . . I just don't think that. . ." He faltered. He hadn't been paying attention.

"She called me ugly." Natasha snapped at the woman. "She is nasty little girl. Brat."

The woman looked outraged. "Don't you call my daughter names."

"She is rude. You should be ashamed."

"Natasha.. . ." Clint groaned. "Natasha just apologize."

"No. I will not." She stuck her nose up and closed her eyes.

Clint sighed. "Look, I'm sorry she hit your kid but it looks like they roughed each other up and if she called Natasha ugly then I'm not that sorry. Your kid was making fun of her last time they were here."

The woman glanced at her daughter as though she was partially angry over her behavior and still not accepting Natasha's behavior.

"Look, that doesn't excuse your behavior. I hope you'll discipline her better next time. At least teach her that she can't settle everything with her fists. She acted like a little barbarian."

Natasha glared at her. "I hope you'll teach your daughter not to be a brat."

Clint could have died. "Nat please. . . look ma'am, I'm sorry. She's not normally like this. We're just going to go. Again, I'm really sorry about everything."

The woman gave them an angry look and marched off, fretting over her daughter again.

Natasha who was now acting very disinterested in the whole situation wondered over to where her doll lay in the mud and picked it up. She frowned. The doll was stained with mud. In her anger she had dropped it carelessly.

Clint sighed exasperatedly. "You got your doll?" He asked.

He wasn't really angry with her. Kids fought. It was just what happened and he believed Natasha's side of the story.

"There's mud on her." Natasha said mournfully.

Clint glanced at the doll. "We can clean it. Don't worry."

They returned to the mansion and he made her go take bath while he threw the doll in the wash. He was amused by the situation and sank onto the couch to relax. He was exhausted. Hauling Natasha off of the girl had hurt his cracked ribs a little. He flicked on the tv and wondered how he could avoid telling the others. He didn't want them to be mad. He wasn't worried that they'd be mad at her but he'd already messed up once and now he'd let her get in a fight. Steve would tear him a new one.

Twenty minutes later she came and sat next to him wrapped in a bath robe with a towel around her hair. She sat quietly and waited. She was waiting for a reprimand. Clint however sat without speaking, eating Cheetos. She watched his tv show for a while. She didn't want to ask what was going to happen to her. Finally he turned and said:

"Can we keep this between us? Cap would wear me out if he knew I let you get into a fight."

She looked at him curiously. "You'd be in trouble in stead of me?"

"Well we'd both be in trouble." He grinned at her. "You know you can't beat someone up just 'cause they insult you."

She frowned a little guiltily. She knew that. "Yes but she made me really mad. All of them did."

He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a small hug. "I know but next time try and keep your head on straight. It'll save you a lot of trouble in the long run."

She curled up next to him and they watched television until the others returned home. Neither she nor Clint mentioned the fight and when Steve asked why the doll was in the wash Clint gave a muffled response about having dropped it in a puddle.

Natasha waited anxiously for the doll to come out of the dryer and then inspected it carefully for any permanent damage. She was relieved when there was none. She had been afraid she had ruined such a nice thing and it made her regret her temper a little more.

They ate dinner together and Natasha leaned against Clint's shoulder, she was glad she wasn't in trouble even if she had gotten to the point where she didn't like keeping secrets from Steve and the others.

This weighed on her throughout dinner and afterward she kept to herself, feeling guilty. She wanted to be good and getting into fights and keeping them secret wasn't what good children did. She was sure of that. Clint was pretending that nothing had happened but in her own shrewd way she thought that might have been what he had done as a kid.

Eventually she decided that telling the truth was better and hesitantly she tugged on Steve's sleeve. He was Captain America, he was in charge and he was who she should tell. He looked down with a smile. "What's up?"

She bit her lip. "Um. . . I didn't drop my doll." She said softly.

He tilted his head, encouragingly. "Well what happened?"

"I got in a fight and dropped her."

Worry crossed his face. "Who'd you get into a fight with? Did something happen at the park?!"

She nodded. "There was this girl and she called me ugly and last time I saw her she called me stupid soI hit her."

Steve sat for a moment and then relaxed. He had thought something much more serious had happened. "Well. . . well that's not good but. . ." It was hard to be mad when he thought Hydra or something like the Red Room might have been involved. "I mean. .. you can't hit people just because they make you mad."

She nodded and hung her head. "It is different here. Here I have to be careful."

"You couldn't be careful in the Red Room?"

"I had to make sure no one thought I was weak."

He frowned but softened. "Is that why you hit the girl?"

"No." She wanted to make that clear. She had hit the girl because the girl had insulted her. "She just made me mad."

He let out a soft chuckle. "Well I can't say I'm happy but um. . .next time just tell me. Or better yet, next time don't get into a fight." He then cleared his throat and turned to Clint who was making a miserable face. "Honestly Barton, sometimes it's like having two kids around. You're supposed to be in charge! You can't not tell people when stuff like this happens."

Clint groaned and put his head in his hands. "I gave her a talking to."

Natasha quietly thought that what he had called a talking too had been pretty weak, not that she was looking punishment.

Steve sighed. "Alright. What's done is done but Natasha, no more fighting. Clint. . . no more covering your ass like that."

Both made muffled sounds of agreement and Natasha had to stifle a grin. She was sure Steve was more angry with Clint than with her.

She went to be bed delighted and a surprised that she hadn't been in more trouble. She thought that this place really might have been paradise.


	15. Chapter 15

They contacted Doctor Strange the next day and Took what Steve called a field trip. They ended up at an old brown stone and were greeted at the door by a strange Asian man. Not that he looked strange it was just that to Natasha he gave off a strange feeling. She eyed him carefully, not sure what to make. In introduced himself as Wong and they headed through the house.

Doctor Stephen Strange was waiting for them in an inner room, levitating as he meditated. Natasha's eyes went wide as she looked at him. She had never seen a man hover in the air before. He smirked a little, enjoying the shock on her face and gestured for them to sit down. Natasha's head turned form side to side as she tried to take in everything around her.

Every surface was covered in something amazing. Stacks of books that stood impossibly tall and objects she knew just had to be magical. She didn't know where to look first and she got the distinct impression Strange was enjoying her reaction. H smiled and came to rest in a winged arm chair, folding his hands neatly as he did so.

"It's remarkable." He said. "How old are you, Natasha?"

Natasha looked at him curiously. "Six." She said.

He smiled. "What a wonderful age to be." He turned his attention to Steve. "Do you have the cursed object?"

Steve nodded and produced a metal box. Inside was the box containing the object. Strange took it and with a wave of his hand both boxes opened and the object flew up into the air. He examined it without touching it. It was a small, ancient looking comb. He turned it this way and that, directing it with his index finger. The object turned and flipped. "And Thor believes it was cursed by the Enchantress?"

Steve nodded.

"It does look like her work. Perhaps meant to call upon the vanity of youth. Rather a harsh punishment. But Ms. Romanoff did not touch it directly?"

"No, Thor said she just held the box."

"Curious, it's magic permeated the box. It must be quite powerful. I'm sorry I couldn't be reached sooner. I was preoccupied with with matters of celestial importance."

Steve thought his excuse was a bit evasive and rather grandiose but didn't push it. He just wanted to know if Strange could fix restore her to her proper age. "Do you think there's anything you can do?" He asked.

"I may have to study this object for a while more. Asguardian magic can be tricky. I wouldn't want to be preemptive. You understand I'm sure."

Steve nodded, feeling a weight settle in his chest. He had hoped that this would settle things. "Of course."

Strange waved his hand in front of Natasha's face and her eyes narrowed. "I see she is in no present danger. If I were to do nothing she would simply grow up again however I'm sure I can fix this. Would you like to be grown up again?" He asked, addressing her directly.

Steve caught himself realizing that they had not considered her opinion. He had just expected that it was the natural course.

A n introspective look crossed her pretty young face and she nodded. "I think that if I am supposed to be a grown up then I should find a way to be one again. I don't think it is fair to be a child twice. Besides, I think the others need me and I can not help them if I am a child."

Strange's own face became serene and he knelt and took her hands. "That's a very wise decision and if I may say so, I believe it is the correct one. You're a very intelligent girl."

She nodded quietly. "I have thought about it much. Will I remember when I grow up again?"

"I see no reason why you shouldn't."

"I do not want to forget."

"Then you have my word that you will not. I will not attempt to return you to adulthood until I am absolutely positive that you will remember."

She gave him a small smile. "Thank you." Then she blushed. "They told me you were a magician. Could I see a magic trick?"

He gave her a smile that would have been almost cheeky on a younger man and waved his hand,, muttering something unintelligible. Instantly flowers sprung from his palm and he handed them to her, presenting them with a flourish.

She broke into a wide smile and took them, he smiled, evidently pleased with himself. "I don't normally do tricks. This is a one time coinsurance."

"Thank you." She said politely, eyes shining with delight.

Steve who had been sitting by quietly grinned as well and clapped. "So we should come back soon?" He asked.  
Strange waved a hand and turned to place the box on a table. "Once I run some test I'll let you know. My God, once I had nurses to run my errands." He shrugged to himself and turned to face them again. "Why don't the two of you join me for lunch? I was just about to eat."

"If we're not imposing." Steve said.

"Nonsense."

Soon after his partner or servant or. . . Steve wasn't quiet sure what Wong was, brought in some food but declined to join them. Strange talked loftily and neither Steve nor Natasha understood everything he said but they both gave it a try and although he was rather dry humored Natasha like it when he talked. And everything he said was an interesting mix of the mundane and the supernatural.

When they eventually departed she was in a quiet kind of excitement. She had wanted to explore the house. It was impossibly big on the inside and seemed to be full of nothing but magic. Steve told her a few stories of working with Strange but for the most part seemed just as baffled as she was. He said most people got that impression and Tony complained that Strange gave him a head ache something about too much magic talk and not enough facts. She asked if Tony didn't believe in magic and Steve laughed saying Tony thought everything could be explained by science. She didn't quite agree but kept her thoughts to herself.

She didn't understand magic or God or even the concepts of them. She had been taught that what was real was what she could see and touch and kill but she didn't know if she believed that. The world seemed impossibly large and she didn't think everything could just be explained away. People like Strange obviously thought it couldn't. And she had just seen magic, hadn't she? So it must be real and it made her happy because it meant that the people she took orders from weren't always right. She knew something they didn't.

She held Steve's hand as they walked to their car. She had been trying to do this more. She saw other children doing it and children of TV held the hands of adults so she thought that it was normal. She didn't think she really needed to but she wanted to fit in and be a gook girl. The others were indulgent although they knew fully well that she didn't need to hold their hands. She wanted to.

Steve smiled and the two of them drove back to Avengers Tower. "I'm glad you're okay with returning to adulthood." He said as he drove."

"I think that it's important that I do." She said softly.

"I do to but I want you to know I wouldn't make you if you didn't want to."

She frowned. "But it is the way things have to be. It is like eating broccoli, I don't want to but Bruce says that it is good for me and so I have to."

He gave a small laugh at her analogy. "Well yeah, I suppose so. That's very grown up of you."

"I wish sometimes I wasn't so grown up. I want to have fun being a kid."

"Do you not have fun?" He asked, feeling his heart sink.

"I do but I don't know if it's the right kind."

"I don't think that there's a right or wrong kind, just as long as you're having fun. That's what's important."

She smiled a little. "I think you are a very good man." She said softly. "I am glad to know you."

He looked at her in the review mirror. She looked so serious. "And I'm very glad to know you, Natasha."

They pulled up to the tower and got out and Natasha felt a rush of gratitude towards Steve. She hoped he knew. She really did. She went in and the two of them watched television. He put on an old Katherine Hepburn movie. He knew it would be clean enough for a little girl to watch and although she wasn't the prettiest woman to ever act she wasn't hard to look at. Besides, Natasha seemed to like older movies. If she was born in the late forties, early fifties then he thought that they would be closest to what she was used to. They watched for a while and the two of them sat in silence, enjoying each other's company.

When the rest of the Avengers began filtering in for dinner Steve filled them in on what Strange had said and with predictableness Tony lamented the uncertainty of magic and Bruce nodded along without comment and Thor just rolled his eyes. Clint when and finished the movie with Natasha although he was quite evidently board by it.

During dinner they talked over the meeting with Strange and Natasha told them about his magic trick. She had been very impressed with it and once they had gotten home Steve had helped her find a vase. Somehow the flowers didn't seem to wither no matter how long they were out of water. He thought maybe that was a spell too.

After dinner Natasha was sent to get ready for bed and the others talked for a while.

"I'm glad she's not upset about returning to she adult age." Bruce said quietly.

"I don't think she wants to but she understands that she has to. Her one concern was that she be able to remember being a kid with us." Steve said.

"Aw man." Clint said softly. "What'd Strange say?"

"He said he would make sure of it."

"That is excellent news." Thor put in. "I would not want her returning to adulthood unhappily."

Tony nodded. "If I could have found a way to help I would have. . ." He looked down at his knee. "I tried, right after it happened but I couldn't come up with anything."

Steve smiled a little. "I know. It's alright. I trust Strange to get things done."

There was a pause. "She grew on me." Tony said wistfully. "I man Barton's crappy parenting aside I think we've done okay with her so far."

"My parenting isn't crappy." Clint interjected.

"You let her get into a fight and then told her not to tell us because you were afraid to get in trouble." Tony pointed out.

Clint shrugged and sat back in his seat. He couldn't argue with that. He grinned a little at the though. No harm had been done.


	16. Chapter 16

Natasha awoke the next morning thinking hard about becoming an adult again. The truth was that she was nervous but she thought that it was probably best. As long as she could remember everything she would be fine with it. She was sure she couldn't be too different as an adult. She thought she might ask some questions.

She got up and brushed out her hair. She liked doing that. It always made her hair soft and look pretty. After that she went and got dressed, it was a leasurly morning routine and she was glad of it. There was no formality, no military strictness. It made her happy. Then she headed out to find breakfast.

Steve and Tony were sitting at the table drinking coffee. As usual Steve was back from a morning run and Tony looked as though he'd gotten less than two hours of sleep. She took a seat and helped herself to cereal. Normally she would prefer something little more for breakfast but cereal was fine. It was what the others ate. She ate quietly, listening to what the others said. She was always careful to listen to them in case they mentioned something important. Today however was not one of those days. Steve was talking about a 1930's collection of Dodgers baseball cards he'd seen with excitement and Tony was yawning exaggeratedly.

She ate and listened quietly, not recognizing any of the names Steve was mentioning and trying not to laugh every time Tony rolled his eyes.

They kept on bantering and eventually she finished eating. When she was done she took her bowel to the sink. "Oh, Natasha," Steve said, turning in his seat. "I wanted to know if you wanted to spend the day with me? Not go visit anyone or anything but just have fun. There's a baseball game I've got tickets for. That's what started our conversation earlier." He gestured at Tony.

"I have never been to a baseball game." She said curiously. She knew baseball was something Americans liked and got very excited about. "Is it fun?"

He grinned. "Yeah, it's a lot of fun. It's a Yankee Red Sox game. Not my teams but I guess I'm gonna have to find a new one anyway."

"Who do we root for?" She asked.

"Well. . . um, you can root for whoever you want. I think I'll just wish for a good game."

She frowned curiously but trusted his judgment. After that Tony excused himself from the room and Steve cleaned up the rest of the breakfast dishes. "Actually I have a friend in town who's going to meet us there. Is that okay?"

She nodded curiously. "Is what I'm wearing okay?"

He smiled. "Yeah but don't worry, we have plenty of time until the game. It doesn't start until noon."

She nodded again and then excused herself to occupy her time. She headed off to go and watch television for a while. She had taken to watching at least one episode in the mornings. She didn't have a particular show she liked but she could generally find something to watch.

By the time noon rolled around Steve came and reminded her about the game. She quickly followed him to the elevator and then down to the front door. She was excited. She didn't quite know what to expect but she knew enough to know that lots of people enjoyed the game and she wanted to join them.

They took a cab to Yankee stadium, Steve commenting on the differences he remembered between the new one and the old one. She listened, not understanding everything and talk turned to him explaining the rules which she tried her best to remember and thought she did rather easily.

When they got out at gate four at the stadium, Steve looked around. A man was standing not far away with his hands in his pockets. Steve grinned at him and waved, shepherding Natasha in his direction. "Natasha, this is my friend Bucky Barnes. Bucky this is Natasha, I told you she'd be coming."

Natasha looked up at Bucky. There was something similar to Steve about him. The way he styled his hair. . . the way his configured his face even. It just felt old fashioned. His smile however was young. He smiled down at her. "Hey." He said.

She thought he was good looking. Her face flushed a little. "Hi."

He looked at Steve and grinned. There was something secretive in the smile. "You got the tickets?" He asked.

Steve nodded. "I figured out how to pre-order them. I got yours too." He handed one over.

Bucky smiled a little and thanked him and the three of them headed up to the ticket office, where a woman in a box was tearing their tickets and handing the stubs back. She smiled at Natasha and Natasha smiled back. She found Americans smiled a lot just to be friendly.

Inside Natasha was struck by the different food vendors and even restaurants. "Once upon a time you could just get pop corn and hot dogs. Nothing crazy like this." Steve said, finding a kiosk selling hot dogs for outrageous prices. Want one Buck?"

Bucky nodded. "If you're paying." He had been eyeing Natasha and she didn't know what to make of it. It was like he was waiting for something. Still, she didn't dislike him. She couldn't place it but there was something she really liked about him.

Once they had gathered up their food and drinks they headed off to find their seats. It was a good view, not too high up and not too far down. She sat next to Steve with Bucky on his other side.

"Do you know the rules?" Bucky asked, leaning forward to talk to her.

She nodded. "I think so. Steve explained them to me."

Bucky smiled. "I hope you like it. If you get board I'm sure we can find you something to do. " Then he leaned over to Steve. " Think you can keep it together if the Yankees win?" He whispered.

Steve grinned. "I'll try."

"You do not like them?" Natasha asked curiously. She wasn't quite sure she understood sports teams yet.

"They're um. . . not my favorite." He glanced at the two people sitting next to them in Yankees shirts and caps. "I told you I'm looking for a new team, I like the Mets alright. Bucky, what about you?"

Bucky waved a hand. "I'm too busy. I'll catch a game when I can but I just don't have the time to follow anyone right now."

Natasha watched his hand move and had a sudden jolt of surprise whens he saw that it was metal. Her first thought was that he was wearing some kind of glove but on closer inspection she saw that it was indeed mechanical. She wondered what had happened to his arm. She watched him carefully. He was sitting back in his seat at relative ease but under closer inspection she saw he was on edge. His real arm was tense and his movements sharp and jittery. She frowned and sat back so that Steve's body obscured her vision of him.

The game started with the national anthem and although she didn't know the words she stood with Steve and Bucky. Steve sang along quietly but Bucky shot her a half smile behind his back. They sat back down and listened to the opening line up before the game began. Natasha listened with interest and then looked around at the different people gathered. Most of them were sitting back comfortably in their seats, watching the field. Steve was listening to the line up and Bucky was squinting at the Red Sox players with a hand shielding his eyes. She watched the batter take his first swing and miss. Steve seemed torn between wanting to root for someone and not wanting that someone to be the Ynakees.

"Just get it over and root for the Red Sox." Bucky said, leaning forward as the Yankees stole a second base. A roar of approval rose up all around them and Bucky let out a cackle as Steve smacked the arm rest of his seat.

Natasha smiled and watched, trying to match the rules she had been taught to what was going on in the game. It was rather slow paced to her but that was fine. She didn't understand everything the announcer was saying but she thought she had a pretty good understanding of the game even so.

After about three innings she began to grow restless. She twisted in her seat still trying her best to stay still. This was a nice treat and she didn't want to come across as ungrateful. She muttered to herself in Russian, trying to stay entertained. Steve was caught up in the game and didn't hear but Bucky snorted.

"Do you want to stretch your legs?" He asked, also in Russian.

She felt her eyes go wide. Since she had come to the tower no one had been able to speak Russian. She had gotten used to speaking English. It was coming more naturally now but to hear someone speak Russian again was a little comforting. She knew the language better. She nodded. "Just for a little bit."

He clapped Steve on the shoulder and stood up. The two of them fought their way out of the crowd and all the way out of the stadium. They headed out to where the food vendors were located and stood for a moment, trying to stay out of the way. Natasha glanced up at Bucky quietly. There was something reachable about him to her. Maybe it was that he spoke Russian, maybe it was the way he didn't seem altogether at peace. He stood still but she could feel that he was on edge. She didn't know why but there was something different about him that set him apart from the others. Not that it was better or that the others were worse it just made her feel closer to him.

They walked for a bit and she tried to remember where she had heard the name Bucky Barnes before. As they walked past a row of banners depicting famous Yankee players it came to her. "You were with Captain America only. . .you were younger." She said in surprise.

He glanced at her. "That was a long time ago."

"How come you are still alive."

He looked down at her and smiled sadly. "After the war I. . . let's say I worked for the Red Room. I didn't choose to but I did."

"Did they make you?" She asked softly.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Did we know each other?"

He hesitated. "I trained you when you got older."

She narrowed her eyes. "Did we like each other?"

Again he hesitated but then he smiled. "Very much."

"Did we go out?" She had heard the phrase on television many times and now understood what it meant.

He looked down at the floor and smiled to himself. "Yeah. We did. I don't know if Steve would want me telling you that. But yes, we went out." He didn't tell her that it hadn't been quite that simple. He didn't tell her that it had been all secrets and sneaking around or that it had ended horribly with their discovery. There was no reason for her to know these things. Instead he let her mind fill in the details. It seemed to make her happy that that amused him. He'd loved her since the first moment he'd seen her and that wasn't going to change only now seeing her as a little girl was charming. It made his heart warm.

She asked him about some of the players on the wall and he tried to remember what he could about them. He thought someone else might have a better knowledge. He remembered a man he'd met during the war who knew every man to ever play for the Yankees and all of their stats. He'd brought his trading cards with him. He didn't know what had happened to the man but he hoped he'd lived on to see more games.

She stayed by his side and once when she was almost stepped on by a crowd he picked her up and put her on his shoulder. From there she had a much better view. She liked it better than the forest of legs she'd been faced with before. He was fun to be with. He had said he'd worked for the Red Room and that meant that he knew everything. She didn't have to explain why the place was so horrible. He was like her. At least, she thought he was.

The two of them walked around for a while more before returning to their seats. Steve greeted them and said the fourth inning had gone fast and they were on the fifth. "There's abreak at the seventh inning." Bucky leaned in and said. "It's called the seventh inning stretch."

She nodded seriously and checked the score board. Steve had explained how to read it but she asked Bucky to explain it again. She liked hearing him talk. The Yankees were winning but it was close. Steve was on the edge of his seat, torn between wanting a New York team to win but not wanting that team to be the Yankees. Bucky seemed to find this humorous.

Natasha leaned forward and watched the game seriously. Since no one had told her who to root for she decided to root for the Red Sox. She liked the red on their uniforms.

Around them a cry rang out as the Yankee batter was declared out before he reached first base. Angry yells surrounded them while a smaller but surprisingly loud section cheered exuberantly.

"People are very excited." Natasha observed.

"It's a big game." Steve said, sitting back and taking a drink from his coke. "These guys are rivals. People take these games seriously. I'm surprised we could even get tickets. Tony helped me get mine."

Bucky nodded and leaned forward to watch the Yankee batter step up to home plate.

The game eventually finished with an extra inning and an eventual win by the Yankees. Bucky laughed loudly as several Red Sox fans near by left grumbling. Steve wasn't pleased either but he admitted that he was glad a New York team had won.

After the game they headed for dinner. The extra inning had made the game run late but as it had only been one it wasn't too terribly late. Natasha left still humming take me out to the ballgame which she thought was a terribly funny song.

Bucky muttered something about a thank you note to Tony for the tickets. Natasha wondered if she should write one too.

They stopped for dinner at a deli near by. The sandwiches were good and Natasha, who had not eaten since her popcorn and hot dog around noon ate the entire sandwich, eliciting laughter from Steve and Bucky who were already on their seconds. It had been a very good day. Although she didn't quiet see what all the fuss over baseball was it still seemed like a fun game. Maybe it was just being together in a crowded place people liked. Steve had really liked the game and so did Bucky so she thought maybe it was something older people enjoyed more.

When they finally said goodbye to Bucky he thanked them for the day and told Steve to thank Tony for the ticket and then knelt and gave Natasha a hug. She hugged him back and surprisingly found it very easy. His hug was tight and warm and for a brief moment he seemed to relax. Then he drew back, ruffled her hair and stood up. "I'll be seeing you."

"Where's he staying?" Natasha asked as they watched him hail a taxi.

"I think he's staying at a hotel. He's been taking a lot of missions lately. I think he's just trying to keep busy."

She nodded, feeling as though she understand. "I liked him. He said we dated."

Steve laughed as they caught their own taxi. "Did he? Yeah you did. I don't really know that much about it but yeah, you did."

That made her smile and she leaned back against the seat and close her eyes, opening them just enough to let the city lights blur past her as they headed home.

Sometime during the ride she must have dozed them because when they reached the tower, Steve had to carry her up to bed. She was dead weight in his arms, fast asleep but it made him smile. He put a finger to his lips as he passed the others and pulled back the covers with his free hand. Then he untied her shoes and set them aside and after getting her into her pajamas tucked her in. it was the first time he's done that. She normally was self sufficient and didn't need any help getting ready for bed. He watched for for a minute and smiled. She looked happy in her sleep and that was good enough for him.


	17. Chapter 17

The next day was Tony's turn to baby sit again. Steve had gone to talk to Doctor Strange after the man's face had appeared in his mirror first thing in the morning. Tony was more than pleased to do the duty, he enjoyed having little Natasha around and especially liked having someone who would listen to him talk in his lab even when they didn't understand. He spent the morning teaching her about his robots and the robots that had come before and she seemed very fascinated and kept asking him questions. While he worked he kept an eye on the news. With Steve at Strange's and Clint and Bruce dealing with a hurricane in the South Pacific he was the only Avenger in the City. Even Thor was in Los Angeles on a mission with Falcon.

He didn't expect any trouble but this was New York City and despite having Spider-Man, the X-Men and damn near every other Superhero in the country based there, there were always enough disasters to go around.

Around noon he set an alert on his pager and took her upstairs for some lunch. She was hopping with energy and he thought he might take her for a walk and a lunch out. They deserved a normal lunch after the last one had resulted in a bank robbery interruption.

This time however he took her to a small ice cream deli and got her a sandwich and some Ice Cream. After that they went for a walk and she told him the plot of a movie she had seen. It was only when a loud explosion nearby caught their attention that they deviated from their path. They had been walking along the river when a warehouse a few building ahead bust into flames. Tony immediately pushed Natasha between two buildings and crouched down. "I'm going to go see what's happening. Promise me you'll stay here."

She glanced at the flames curiously but nodded. She trusted him. A second later he had donned the Iron Man suit and taken off towards the fire. She crouched down, watching intently. She was far enough away that she wouldn't be touched by the flames but she could feel the heat.

Tony made one last check to make sure she was safe and then returned his attention to the fire. People were fighting to get out of the building. They were workers. He studied the scene for a second before diving into help clear the doors. It looked like an accident. Inside the warehouse he could see several barrels of oil. One of them had spilled. He stopped a fleeing worker and asked what happened.

The man stopped, panting. "Martin!" He gasped. "He lit up and-" The man waved his hand around wildly and Tony understood. They had probably been unloading barrels to store and someone had light a cigarette. That being said there were several barrels still dangerously close to the fire. He began picking up as many as he could and hurrying them out. The trouble was that he could only carry two at a time. A second barrel exploded inside and the force of the explosion sent him hurtling backwards. From his point in the sky he could See Natasha watching curiously. She had moved from between the buildings and was standing in the open watching. He cursed, wishing she had stayed hidden.

A third explosion caught his attention and he hurried back to the warehouse. A quick sweep of the building told him that there were no more people inside. He rushed to get the barrel nearest the flames out but just as he headed for the exit the structural integrity of the building began to collapse. A managed to get the barrel out and dodge a falling rafter before a chunk of roofing caught him and he crashed to the floor.

From her vantage point a few buildings away Natasha followed Tony's progress with bated breath. Each explosion made her worry more. Then when he didn't come out she began to grow afraid. After a few moments she ventured closer and tried to see through the flames. She didn't have much training for fires. Someone had said that would come later. Still, she knew enough to know that fire would hurt.

She teetered as close to the flames as she could get, getting too close once or twice and singeing her hair. Tony was in there and she couldn't see him. She yelped as another explosion sounded and the flames leaped at her. Inside she could hear a noise, unconnected from the fire. Then suddenly Tony was back in the air and another barrel was thrown into the river.

Tony stopped to breath, he had gotten trapped under the chunk of roof and the suit had been temporarily knocked off line. As he tossed the barrel into the water he noticed Natasha dangerously close to the flames. Damn it. He swore. The little girl was peering into the flames intently, wringing her hands. She looked scared. He wanted to swoop down and move her to a safer place but the metal of his suit was too hot. "Natasha, get back!" He yelled.

She looked up and relief washed over her face. Just then another barrel ignited and he had to fly down and shield her from the flames. Natasha yelped as her palms were singed. Tony swore and shoved her out of the way. She toppled over and then ran as quickly as she could away from the flames.

It only took a few more minutes for him to clear out the rest of the barrels. Soon after the fire department arrived. As soon as he had let them know what was going on Tony rushed to find Natasha who was sitting on a crate by the water's edge, cradling her palms in her lap. She looked up when he approached and looked worried. "I'm sorry." He said softly.

He deactivated the suit and it returned to the Tower on it's own. Without it he could feel the effects of the fire a lot more powerfully. He had been burned a little. The suit had overheated. When he returned to the tower he would have to recalibrate it to withstand higher temperatures. He had a few burns on his arms and body but nothing serious. He examined her palms and then frowned. "What the hell were you thinking?!" He yelled.

She recoiled slightly. "You didn't come back out." She whispered.

He paused, regretting his tone of voice. Of course she had been worried and of course she thought she could stand the flames. She wasn't a normal little girl, she could do things even grown men couldn't. "Hey, I'm sorry. No one got really hurt. Lets get back to the tower. I wanna put something on your hands."

She nodded and they hurried back. Once in the tower Tony took care of her hands before checking himself over. Natasha seemed to think that she had made him very angry and wasn't speaking. That evening when the others returned she shut herself up in her room.

Tony told them what had happened and then worried that his yelling at her had set things back. He made several attempts to get her to come out. Eventually he sat down outside her bedroom and let her know that he wasn't leaving until she talked to him.

It only took twenty minutes for her to open the door. "I'm sorry." She said softly.

From his seat on the floor he had to look up at her. "You don't need to be sorry. You were just worried. I'm sorry for yelling."

She twisted the hem of her shirt. "I should be better at following orders."

"Wasn't an order. . . well, not that kind. I just wanted you safe."

She sat down opposite him. "In the Red Room when we do not follow orders we are punished. Sometimes we are not allowed to eat. Other times someone hits us. One time a girl would not do what she was told and they punished all of us."

he reached out and dragged her over to his side of the hall, putting an arm around her as he did so. "Well no one's gonna do that here. Least of all me. I was just worried about you. Like you were worried about me."

"I am changing." She said softly. "'I'm not the same person I used to be."

He looked down at the floor between his knees. "Do you like who you're becoming?"

She gazed at her bandaged palms. "I think so. I am happier."

"Well, that's a good thing isn't it?"

She nodded. "Yes, I think so."

They sat for a moment before she rose to her feet. "I dropped my ice cream when we heard the explosion. Could I have some more?"

He frowned for a moment, startled before smiling. "Sure. I think there's a tub in the freezer."


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning Natasha awoke with surprise. She did not remember going to bed and after a quick moment of thought realized someone must have carried her. She sat quietly processing the thought. Someone had been kind enough to help her to bed and had even thought to put her in pajamas so that she would be more comfortable. That was a remarkable act of kindness. Had she ever dared to fall asleep in the Red Room without making it to bed first she doubted anyone would have been so kind. In all likelihood they would have punished her for being lazy. The thought it had probably been Steve. She would thank him.

And that reminded her, Bucky had said something about writing Tony a thank you note. She would have to do something to show her appreciation too. She wondered if a drawling would be a good idea. It was how she had thanked Steve and with excitement she realized that it was another chance for her to give something as a gift.

She went and took a shower and then got dressed, her head filled with thoughts of what she could get or make him. She wanted it to be nice and so she thought she would get to work after breakfast. A nice card would be a good idea. She headed quickly down to the kitchen and climbed into her seat. To her surprise no one greeted her.

In fact, the room was empty. She ate her cereal quietly, wondering where the others were. When she was done she carried her bowel to the sink and the wondered into the living room. No one was there either. After standing for a moment between the tv and the couch she abandoned her morning ritual of watching television. Instead she wondered around and down the hall to where their bedrooms were.

Hesitantly she began checking rooms. The first one she checked was a mess and had arrows scattered across the floor. She decided it was Clint's but it was empty. The next one she checked was sparsly decorated but looked old fashioned. She thought that was probably Steve's but it too was empty. The next couple she decided had to be Bruce and Tony's. One was neat and tidy with bookshelves lining the walls and the other was large and brightly light with a wall made almost entirely out of windows.

The final room she checked was neat and orderly but had a more feminine touch than the others. She liked it the best although she wasn't sure who's room it was. It had a large dresser against one wall and as she made her careful way over to it she examined the objects laid out. A few bottles of perfume, a necklace or two and a gun. She touched them all briefly. The gun was loaded but the safety was on. She took her hand off of it and picked up the necklace. It was made of pearls. She didn't know if they were real but she held the stand up to her neck and looked at herself in the mirror. She thought it was very pretty. She put them back down again with the sudden worry that she would be caught.

She moved on to a few photographs that were sitting on a table under the windows. There was a framed picture of the Avengers and with them was a red haired woman. He was standing next to Clint with a small smile on her face.

Natasha touched her index finger to the glass over the woman's face. "That's me." She said softly." She studied the face carefully. The woman was beautiful. It was a strange thought that she was looking at herself. She smiled a little. Glad she was pretty. She turned reluctantly away from the picture and headed towards the closet, curious to learn as much about herself as she could. She looked through the clothes but found little of interest. Turning again she she looked over the dark room. The few wall decorations were sparse but she liked them. There was a floral print and a small Icon hanging on the wall. She doubted very much her adult self had picked it for it's religious value. It was pretty and antique looking. She turned and looked at the bed. If this was her room then that was where she slept. She sat down on the bed and lay back, staring up at the ceiling. She thought she might feel something. Maybe remember something about being an adult but she didn't remember anything.

Eventually she got up and with a last look at the room left and headed back down the hall. She hesitated at the elevator and then rode it down to the next floor. No one was there either. She found the gym and walked through it, impressed. It was more advanced than the ones in the Red Room. She found a few things that had been left lying around but they were of little interest.

After taking the elevator down again she found Tony's lab but the lights were off and it was empty too. With a feeling of foreboding she headed back upstairs and sat on the couch. She had no idea where the others were and although she wasn't worried she was little unsettled. It was disconcerting to wake up to an empty house. She went back to her room and got out her crayons. If she was going to spend the day by herself she might as well put her time to good use. She began working on a thank you card for Tony, folding the paper in half and drawing a pretty design on the cover.

It was about an hour later that she heard a noise in the living room. Silently she slid from the bed and tiptoed out into the hall. Someone was in the living room moving around. She frowned. It could have been one of the others but if it wasn't she was unarmed. Maybe it was one of the people they fought. She thought of the gun in her adult self's room but was drawn from her thoughts by a man catching her in the hall. He met her eyes and smiled.

"Natasha?" He asked.

She narrowed her eyes. "Who are you."

He knelt and smiled. "I'm a friend of Steve's. He asked me to come and hang out with you today. He's really sorry about leaving you alone this morning. They all got called out last night and I guess they thought they'd be back by now. I'm Sam Wilson."

"You know Steve?" She asked carefully.

"You think anybody who didn't know Steve could get in here?"

Personally she agreed. The tower was a safe place. If the Avengers didn't want someone in they probably couldn't get in. She came slowly towards him. "They told you my name then?"  
"Actually I know you when you're grown up."

She nodded, feeling better about him being there. "I thought you had broken in."

He laughed. "Nope, guest of honor. So what have you been doing?"

She didn't want to tell him that she had been snooping around and so instead she shrugged. "I was going to watch television." She said.

He nodded. "Alright, you wanna go find something good on?" She went with him into the living room and sat eyeing him. He seemed goodnatured. Pleasant even and with the potential to a be a fun person.

They watched a cartoon mouse fight a cartoon cat and she liked it. It was dumb but still funny. Sam was laughing. She thought he was pretty easy to talk to. He seemed friendly.

Around lunch he made her a can of soup and a plate with baby carrots and celery. She thanked him and the two ate together. Like the others he liked to tell stories of superheroing. She liked his stories. They were funny and exciting. Not long after lunch she decided that she liked Sam. He taught her a card game and the two of them played what he called Black Jack. She liked it. It was easy and fun to play.

They were in the middle of their fifth round when there came a noise from the elevator. It dinged open and out poured the whole team of Avengers. Tony who looked as though he had recently peeled out of his armor sank into a chair. "Oh my God." He groaned.

"Are you teaching her to gamble?" Steve asked incredulously. "She's a little young to be hitting the casinos."

"We're just preparing for the future." Sam said off handed. Natasha giggled.

Thor laughed from his chair and set his hammer aside. "I see see no money on the table. It looks like a friendly game."

"Besides, I've heard stories that you let Bucky gamble as a kid."

"He wasn't six." Steve said but he no longer sounded like he was worried, more amused than anything else. "And should have tried stopping him."

As it turned out, Sam stayed for dinner and after dinner when they were all sitting around talking over the day's mission Natasha gave Tony his card.

He grinned widely when she did. "You didn't have to make me this." He said.

"Steve's friend Bucky said he was going to give you a a thank you note for the game and Steve said it was a special game." She smiled a little. "I don't understand it really but thank you."

He gave her an awkward one armed hug and looked at the card again. It was pretty. She had drawn flowers and vines across it and written 'Thank You' as neatly as she could which was surprisingly neat for a child her age. She glowed a little when he taped the card to the fridge and her eyes lingered on it as if admiring a piece of artwork.

That evening everything seemed perfect and Natasha sat playing with her doll, she was having a dinner party with coffee cups. From his view point across the room, Steve looked over at her affectionately. He was sitting with Sam talking quietly.

"Thanks for coming over on such short notice." He said.

Sam nodded. "You're welcome. We had a lot of fun. She's a pretty smart kid, I'd do it again if you wanted."

"We may have to call you on that I don't know how much longer we'll have before we'll have to deal with a threat and need the whole team."

"You ever thought about hiring a real babysitter?"

"I thought about that but I need someone who can understand Natasha. Or at the very least can handle that she's not a normal child." They watched her drink imaginary coffee with her doll and he smiled. "She could be though. If we didn't turn her back. She looks just like a normal kid. If we didn't turn her back she might get the chance to be one."

"That's not really fair to her though and to be honest I can't see her wanting to stay a kid if you gave her the choice as an adult."

Steve nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I know how it has to be. I think sometimes she wants an out and this might have been a good way for her to get away from all the fighting and violence."

Sam looked away, perhaps a little disturbed by the intensity of the conversation. "But I don't think it's the right way."

"No, it's not."

Not long after that Natasha said goodnight to Sam and the others and Clint helped her on to bed. Steve stayed up thinking, he didn't know how close Dr. Strange was to fixing her. He was a secretive person and to be honest, Natasha looked like she was having fun. He didn't see a need to cut that short. As soon as she returned to normal she would be back to fighting. It wasn't his job to protect his friend but he could want something good for her.


	19. Chapter 19

Steve took Natasha to Doctor Strange the next day. The day before he had had a long conversation with the doctor about what they were going to do. Strange had said that he was preparing a spell that would return Natasha to her proper age but he needed a lock of her hair for it to work. He said this had to do with making the spell specially tailored to her.

Natasha was very quiet on the way there and Steve thought it necessary to assure her that she was not being turned back today. He told her as kindly as he could that this was only a step to get her back to normal and that they would let her know well before hand in case there was anything she wanted to do before it happened. This seemed to relax her a great deal and Natasha sat back in the taxi cab feeling much better. She had for a moment steeled herself to be as unhelpful as possible. She accepted that she was going to return to being an adult but she wasn't quite ready.

Now she sat quietly, kicking her heels and watching the city go by. More and more she had been thinking about what was going to happen when she was returned to being an adult. She had even come up with a list of things she wanted to do before it happened. She had written them down on a piece of paper and hidden it inside one of her novels. It had things like: See the grand canyon and See where the president lives even drive a car. She was sure some of the things she had done as an adult, like drive a car and one of her more exciting ideas, go to Paris and it wasn't that she didn't think she could do them once she was returned to being an adult but somehow it was important to her that she did them before she was turned back.

As she sat back in her seat, she watched the city pass and thought of something new to add to her list. Go to the top of the Empire State Building. That was where King Kong had gone. She hadn't seen the movie all the way through but one time clips of it had been shown to the girls in the Red Room because it was it showed areal views of New York City. Secretly she had tried to piece together the scenes and follow the plot. She decided that she would add it to the list when she got back to her room.

Finally their car pulled up in front of Strange's brown stone and they got out. Strange was waiting for them inside, floating in the air surrounded by magical books and instruments. Again, Natasha marveled at the way her was able to float and at how he made the books float around him.

He and Steve talked for a long time. During which she was served tea. She listened quietly but found her attention focusing on the details of the room. There were a myriad of things to look sparkling gems on the shelves and books that seemed to vibrate. She had never seen anything so amazing and it was proof magic existed. It made her excited to think of the possibilities. She wanted to go and explore but she stayed in her seat. Finally Strange and Steve stopped talking and turned to her.  
"I'm very close to perfecting the spell. I think it will be close to a week before we can turn you back but before I can cast it I need a lock of your hair. This makes the spell work solely on you."

She fingered her hair before nodding. She wanted to tell Steve about her list but she didn't want to come across as greedy. Doctor Strange handed her a pair of scissors and she cut a small lock off, handing it to him when she was done. He thanked her and smiled a little, making her smile as well. He was very odd. His name said he was a doctor but he was unlike any doctor she had ever met before. He wasn't cold or harsh or cruel. He was just odd. She decided that she liked him.

They stayed for a little while more, Steve and Strange talked for a while, discussing people and names she did not know. Eventually They departed and Steve took her out to lunch. Again, she refrained from telling him about her list.

It wasn't until dinner that Clint ended up catching her with it. She was adding: Go to the top of the Empire State Building when he walked in. The list was in Russian and he asked her what she was writing. She hesitated before answering.

"It's a to do list." She said evasively.

He sat down next to her on the bed and watched her finish writing. "Gonna have to admit, I can't read Russian. Can't even speak it." He said.

She looked down at her list and smiled a little. "Maybe I could teach you sometime."

He shrugged. "Sure. So what's on your list?"

She paused again. "Things I want to do before I grow up again."

His smile turned pensive and he picked up the paper to study it, even though he couldn't read it. "Well tell me some of them. Maybe we can do them."

She picked up a piece of paper and began copying her list into English.

See the Grand Canyon

See where the president lives

Ride a Merry-go-round

Go to the Beach

Drive a Car

Go to Paris

Go to the top of the Empire State Building

He read the list over and thought for a minuet. "You know you've done a lot of these things. In fact I think you may have done all of them."

She nodded. "I know. I thought I might have but I. . . I don't remember and. . ."

He smiled and stroked the back of her head. "I think I get it. Why don't you let me go and see how many of these things I can make happen?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to be any trouble."

He shrugged. "Well I don't think we can all go to the Grand Canyon and Paris is a little far but maybe the beach or the someone could take you to see the White House."

She thought for a moment. "I would like to see the beach and maybe drive a car."

He grinned. "Well beach yes, car no. you can't reach the pedals."

She pouted. "I could try."

This time he laughed. "How about we put a hold on that and I get us all to the beach."

She bit her lip hope. "I like swimming."

He grinned again. "Well, I'll find us a nice one." He hurried down to the labs to find Tony and Bruce sitting around talking. They stopped when he poked his head in. "Guy with the credit card." He said.

Tony made a face. "Yo."

"I got a question, you up for a vacation?"

Tony frowned. "What's that mean? You wanna take a vacation with my money?" He didn't sound mad, just amused.

"Nope, Nat wants to. She wants to go to the beach." He then proceeded to explain the list and Natasha's wishes. By the end Tony seemed convinced that they should all take a vacation. He pulled away from his conversation with Bruce to begin making travel plans on his computer.

Without the other half of his conversation Bruce followed Clint out of the lab. "So she's preparing for being turned back into an adult then."

"Yeah, she had a cute list. I had to tell her she couldn't drive a car. She had other stuff like seeing the white house and riding a merry-go-round. I thought that was cute too."

Bruce smiled. "Well it's not like she hasn't driven a car before. I don't know if she's been on a merry-go-round though."

"That's what I said but she said it wasn't the same and I can kind of understand her point of view."

They walked back up to the kitchen and sat down. "So you think Tony will plan us a vacation?" Clint asked.

"Vacation?" They looked up to see Steve walk in. "Do you guys think we have time for that?"

Clint groaned. "Nat wants to go to the beach before we turn her back. Tony said he was willing to plan her a vacation. It'll only be for a day or so. Think you can pull yourself away from the grind for that long?"

Steve looked thoughtful for a minute. "You want to take her to Coney Island?"

"Well you'll have to talk to Tony. Knowing him he probably'll want go to some tropical island in the middle of the ocean."

Bruce laughed. "I can go down to the lab and tell him your idea. That way Natasha can ride a merry-go-round too."

"Go do that. That way we can still be in the city in case something goes wrong."

" It's a vacation Cap, take a break."Clint moaned.


	20. Chapter 20

Tony agreed to the Coney island trip only because he agreed that one of them should stay in the city and it was the only way to keep someone there and not leave anyone out. They planned the trip for two days from the decision, it would leave a few days free to check off whatever else on Natasha's list they could.

On the selected day Steve got Natasha up early so they could load up and get a spot close to the beach. As it was it was the end of summer and a business day so they could count on the crowds being thin. Bruce pointed this out while the others hurried to get ready.

As it turned out , getting up early was a wise choice anyway because while several people had bathing suits they had to swing by a store and get suits for Thor and Bruce. After that they had to double back because Clint had forgotten his suit which turned out to be a lie and he just wanted to grab his snorkel. After that the mood in the van was grumpy and argumentative. Tony was mad Clint had lied about the suit just to get his snorkel and Steve was annoyed that Tony wouldn't drop it and Clint was angry that he had been caught. By the time they reached the parking lot Natasha was buzzing with excitement and the others were worn out already.

Thor carried most of their things down to the beach which as Bruce had predicted was sparsely populated. They set up and while Tony made fun of Clint for his snorkel, Natasha crept towards the water. She had never seen such a wide expanse of water before. It was amazing to look at.

She dipped her toes into the water and was delighted. The sand melted beneath her feel and the waved lapped around her ankles. It tickled and it made her laugh a little. She jumped up and came back down making the water splash and then took a few ore steps forward.

She looked back at where the others were settled. Clint was headed towards her and Steve was watching people on the board walk. She smiled a little as Clint jumped in next to her. "How's the water?" He asked, causing a large splash.

She smiled. "Very nice."

He stood for a minute and laughed. "Could be a little warmer."

She didn't think so but then she was used to cold places. She went in a little deeper and he joined her. They floated around, staying where she could touch the bottom. She tried to remind him that she was a good swimmer but he just shrugged and said yelled for someone on the beach to toss him a ball. Thor obliged and waved jovially. She waved back, happily enjoying herself.

They tossed the ball back and forth for a while, laughing. Eventually Thor came and joined them in the water. On the beach a couple of kids were standing near by talking in loud whispers, trying to decide if it was really Captain America sitting in a folding chair drinking a coke.

After a few hours they took a break from swimming and sat down for a while. Thor continued swimming and Steve joined him. Natasha sat on a towel and drank a juice box while watching the other swimmers. Around her the others were talking animatedly. Clint was digging through a picnic basket for a sandwich and Bruce and Tony were making plans for going up to the board walk.

Natasha was very happy. She had only ever seen pictures of the ocean but this was so much better. It was warm and sandy and she loved the water. She couldn't get enough of the water. After a few moments of people watching Bruce caught her attention and drew a bucket and plastic shovel out of their picnic basket.

"Have you ever made a sand castle?"

She looked at him curiously. "No."

He smiled a little and handed her a second shovel. "Help me fill up the bucket." She did so and then watched with interest as packed it and turned the bucket over. It formed a slightly crumbling tower. She helped him make a second and then they molded a square between them. When they were done he smiled and waved a hand over it. "You just made a sand castle. You want to try making one on your own?"

Delighted at this new activity she made several more and then made several stand alone towers.

"You gotta make a moat around your biggest one." Tony said, picking up a shovel and making a trench around the largest castle. "Hurry and get some water before the rebels invade!"

With excitement she ran and filled up the bucket in the ocean and came back. Tony grinned. "Fill up the moat." Once that was done she sat back to view her medieval village. Tony had made several smaller lumps of sand and said they were village houses because she had to have someone to rule over.

"That's a pretty nice kingdom." Steve said, sitting down in his chair.

"Verily I am impressed by the majesty of your domain." Thor said, nodding approvingly.

She beamed and sat back, playing wither her bucket and shovel for a while more before heading back into the water. Steve joined her and they floated around for a while, avoiding the waves and chasing them. She liked jumping into them and being pushed back. Steve, like Clint made sure she didn't go too far out. She would have liked to tell him that she was a strong swimmer but part of her knew that it was probably for the best.

After a while more she grew tired and they headed up to the boardwalk to look around. There were carnival games and little shops lining the way and a big Ferris Wheel in the distance. Steve compared the similarities to the Coney Island of his youth as he walked. Next to him, Natasha was turning her head from side to side, unable to chose what to look at. She had the ocean in one direction and the colorful kiosks in the other.

Tony was talking quickly, asking her if anything caught her fancy and then somehow talking over himself whenever he became distracted by something that caught his. He ended up buying them ice cream from one of the vendors and they wandered along eating it and watching the people around them.

It was a lovely day. The sun was out and it was warm but not overbearingly so. The boardwalk, like the beach was sparsely populated. Most people were still at work and the season for summer tourism was winding down.

Bruce kept a look out for a merry-go-round for her. Clint had said it was on her list. She hadn't mentioned it but he had noticed her eyes darting towards the carnival rides. Once they had finished their ice cream he asked her if she wanted to go on any. She nodded tentatively, eyes going to the lights in the distance.

Clint elbowed her as he spotted the merry-go-round they were searching for. "Hey, look at that. Two birds, one stone." He said with a grin.

She looked at him curiously. "What does that mean?"

He paused and laughed. "Means we can cross two things off your list. Go get in line."

As luck would have it there were only a few children waiting to get on and Natasha didn't have to wait long.

From their view on the side lines the others watched her. She seemed to like the different horses and the lights. Tony snapped a few pictures on his phone.

Up on the carousel Natasha watched the people around her spin. She liked it. The ride played old fashioned music that sounded candied and rather silly but she liked it just as much. She had never been on a horse before and the sudden thought came that she should add it to her list. When the ride was over she climbed down and joined the others.

Although the ride hadn't been extremely fast she felt winded and flushed with excitement. The others laughed and Tony showed her a picture of her riding the carousel on her phone. She studied it for a long moment. In the picture she was looking outwards and her face was open and bright. After a moment she looked up. "Can you make me a copy?" She asked.

He frowned at the simplicity of the request. "I can make you ten thousand copies if you want."

She laughed. "One will be okay."

They walked on for a while more and Natasha got a balloon and a hot dog that she wasn't quite so fond of and gave to Steve to finish. By the time the sun began to set Tony had delegated six emergencies to various superheroes around the city and Natasha had gone on three more rides. Clint had even won her a stuffed bear which she liked immensely.

By the time they had arrived home She was almost asleep and Steve had to help her up to her room where she promptly dropped off to sleep.

He smiled a little as he picked up her shoes and folded up her clothes. She had the bear under one arm and her doll under the other. She probably should have taken a shower but it wasn't really important. He closed the door as quietly as he could.


	21. Chapter 21

The next day was a little more relaxed. Thor and Clint left for half the day to deal with a supervillain attack in Chicago and Bruce and Tony left for the Amazon to deal with some other mess. Natasha stayed home with Steve who let her watch movies all day and later gave her the printed off picture of herself on the carousel.

She gazed at the photo for a long time. She was not a terribly vain child but she had never had a picture of herself before. The people in the Red Room had taken her picture but she never got to see it. She only knew that she had her picture taken every year and it went into a file. Every girl in the Red Room had a file. None of them ever saw their own. She would occasionally see someone taking notes and they always disappeared too. Right into the files.

This however was hers. She had a picture of herself and she liked it very much. She took the photo into her room and propped it up on the dresser. She thought she might look for a frame later. Tony could probably get her one, he might even have one lying around. She smiled at the thought and returned to the living room to find Steve. He was on the phone with someone and so she busied herself with making herself comfortable on the couch.

When he was done he turned to her and smiled. "Sorry about that. Tony just called to say he has to stop by the Baxter Building before coming back. He says he'll be a little late."

She looked at him curiously and he explained a little more about Reed Richards being a fellow scientist. He left out the part about Reed being another superhero, thinking that that might be a little more complicated than necessary. She accepted his answer and the two of them settled back on the couch and played a few scratch games including hangman and tic tac toe. She was getting good at hangman and he thought it probably helped her with English spelling.

When lunch rolled around he made her a sandwich and consulted her list, which had been stuck to the fridge on top of Clint's list of personally obtained food items the others were not allowed to eat. Well, they wouldn't be able to go to Paris and the Grand Canyon was a bit far, even if they had several Quin Jets. They had gotten her into a bumper car the night before which seemed to satisfy her need to drive a car. All that was really left was to go to the Empire State Building and see the White House.

He puzzled over this for a long time. The Empire State Building would be no trouble, that was right in New York with them he turned to her and cleared his throat. "Natasha, which of these would you rather do?" he hated asking because it meant that he couldn't do both but he wasn't sure they had time. Doctor Strange could have his spell ready at any moment.

Natasha seemed to understand this because she set her cup aside and looked at the list intently. "I would like to see the tower." She said.

He smiled a little, he had never heard the Empire State Building referred to as such but it made sense. "Alright then, I'm going to tell Tony to get the tickets. I'm sure he can order them online."

She grinned happily. "Could we watch King Kong?" She asked.

He laughed. "Sure but only if it's the original."

After eating they returned to the living room and Steve asked Jarvis to find the movie for him. He had seen it before but it had been a while, even for him. "Does it look the same?" Natasha asked when the movie finally got to the end.

He paused to think. "Yeah, pretty much. You know, I had never actually been up it until very recently."

"Why not?"

He laughed. "Too many stairs."

"I had heard that Captain America was once very weak but the Americans made you strong. I thought it might not be true."

"Oh, it's true. I was sick a lot as a kid. Darn near all the time."

"But you're not anymore."

"Haven't been sick in a long time."

She wrinkled her nose, thinking hard. "I have never been sick. They give us shots so that we will not become ill."

Steve frowned, knowing just a little what she was talking about. She had been given a copy of his super soldier serum. It wasn't as strong or as effective as his but it was still more than a kid should have been given. He brushed a hand over the top of her head, hoping she knew he was thinking of her. Weather she did or not she turned and smiled at him.

The next day Steve took Natasha to seen the Empire State Building. Tony had gotten them no waiting all access passes which turned out to be ineffective when a group of children asked for Steve's autograph. Natasha waited through this delay patiently until Clint told her to fake having to go to the bathroom so they could escape. He merrily clapped Steve on the shoulder and they left him to continue signing autographs.

At first they tried the stairs but after a while Clint begged to take the elevator. Natasha was just as impressed with the elevator as she was with everything else in the building so far. Clint smiled when he thought of the treat in store for her when she reached the top. She commented repeatedly about the lovely art deco interior and the gold coloring.

When at long last they reached the top Clint lead her out. He himself had never been anything but fond of heights. He was pleased to see that Natasha was unperturbed as well. She walked right up to the edge and building and stared out. Perhaps there was no giant gorilla next door but she was satisfied.

Not long after Steve finally made his way up and he stood with them, looking out. The wind lifted his hair as he gazed out across the Hudson river towards New Jersey. It was an impressive view. Natasha walked from one side of the building to the next, comparing the different sights and enjoying herself.

She eventually came to stand by Steve and look out. Clint had taken a seat on a bench and was leaning back, looking up at the sky. She smiled at him and came as close to the edge as the railing would allow. "Everyone looks so very far away." She said.

Steve nodded. "Not as high as an airplane but similar. You can feel the air here though."

"I have never been in an airplane. They say I will learn to parachute when I am older. I look forward to being in an airplane."

He smiled and put a hand on the back of her head. It was small under his palm and her hair was warm from the sun. She leaned into his hand, letting him support her in a very childish manner. It seemed a lifetime away that she had been so afraid of him. She seldom thought about what her sisters would think anymore. She was free from the Red Room and she had never felt more free than she now. Standing atop the Empire State Building, looking out at New York City with the wind blowing her hair. She was happy where she was.

After a while they moved to give other people a chance and headed to supper and before they departed Natasha had asked Clint to take a few pictures of the city. She even got one of herself and Steve together. It turned out to be very hard for her to drag herself away from the view and on the way back down she immediately insisted on looking at the pictures.

After that they went to supper and were met by the others. Tony had picked somewhere with an arcade and although Natasha had never played any electronic games before she quickly learned them.

At the adult table he rest of the Avengers sat talking. "Strange called and said he's got the spell finished." Tony said, shaking his drink to measure the ice content.

Steve leaned forward and rubbed his chin. "Sure, he calls you. He showed up in my mirror last time he wanted to talk to me. Did he say that he'll come to us or does he want us to come to him?"

"He says he'll come to us. Said he'd come tonight but he'll have to wait until the day after next, something about a magical disturbance."

Clint looked at the pictures on his phone and frowned a little. "I'm gonna be glad to have the grown up Nat back, don't get me wrong but I'll miss the kid."

"You'll just miss avoiding work." Tony said dryly.

Clint smiled at the joke but didn't laugh. He had really meant it. He leaned back and sighed. "You got me."

At that moment Natasha came running up excitedly, a fist full of tickets flying behind her. "Look what I won!" She cried, excitedly.

"Great job!" Bruce said with a smile. "Fantastic, now do you know what to do with them?" She shook her head. "Go up to the counter and show them your tickets, when you do they'll let you pick out a prize." She scurried off and they laughed, happy to see her so happy.


	22. Chapter 22

The next day was to be their last day with the little girl. Doctor Strange had made plans to cast his spell the morning after and the knowledge that it was their final full day weighed on the team. Natasha had been told in the morning and seemed content with the idea.

Tony got a cake for the final night and put it in the freezer early in the day and for the most part they tried to delegate superheroing to other heroes in the city.

They spent the day doing things Natasha liked doing, Clint and Thor took her swimming and Steve watched a movie with her. Tony and Pepper took her out to lunch and Bruce read part of a book to her.

It was a little inconvenient to take another day off but everyone seemed to agree that it was worth it. By the end of the next day they would have the adult Natasha back and everything would be as it once was.

Natasha was a little somber and perhaps she was afraid of what the next day would bring but she did say anything. She simply went along with the days activities, content to enjoy her last day as a child.

By the end of the night she was worn from a day spent playing and her stomach was full from cake. She tried to read her book for a little while but she was too drowsy. The only thing she stayed awake for was to receive a good night from each of the others.

The next morning Natasha awoke feeling well rested but a bit nervous. She knew that the others had made her last day extra special but in her mind she couldn't help feeling as thoughts that she would have preferred to stay a child a bit longer. Still, she knew that wasn't fair to the others. She swung her legs out of bed and quietly went and dressed, taking extra time to brush her hair and make sure she looked nice. After a long stare at the mirror she hurried down to the kitchen and found the others sitting around looking tired.

Thor greeted her the most brightly and bade her to come and sit by him. She did and he dished her up some pancakes which she ate thoughtfully.

"Strange says he'll be here around ten. That gives us almost an hour." Tony said, checking his watch. "Anything you want to do before then?"

Natasha shook her head, there wasn't too terribly much you could do in an hour. She finished her breakfast and sat looking around. There were in fact many things she wanted to do. She had not checked off all of the items on her list and she could think of many more that weren't even on it.

Still, she stayed silent and appreciated that the others were there to keep her company. Whatever would happen she was pretty sure they wouldn't leave her. She felt bad about how she had treated Steve for so long. He had tried so hard to be nice to her and she had only reacted with hostility. She hoped he knew how much he meant to her now. And then she though, it was important to mean something to another person. She felt like she meant something to all of them and she could only hope they knew she felt the same. She smiled a little at the thought.

Clint caught her smiling and grinned. "What'er you thinking about?" He asked.

She shrugged coyly. "Nothing."

He laughed. "I don't believe that, you're always thinking about something."

She shrugged again, trying to look mysterious.

He laughed a second time and got himself some of the left over cake.

They sat for a while more, talking and laughing, Natasha was happy just to sit with them. It made things so much easier. She thought that had she been left her herself she would probably have been a lot more worried. The others made her relax.

When the hour was over there was a bang and a flash of smoke and a man appeared in the doorway. She recognized him instantly as Doctor Strange. He nodded at her and came and stood in front of the others. "Are you ready?" He asked.

She gazed up at him, knowing there was only one answer and nodded. "yes."

He smiled a little. "Alright then, why don't you step into the living room?"

Carefully and silently she slid from her chair and followed him into the living room where he casually picked up a blanket from the couch and draped it around her shoulders. "Alright, this will only take a minute."

He raised his hands in the air and moved them in a circle and then placed them on her head. She had one last look at the others before she closed her eyes. The next second when she opened them she was standing with the blanket wrapped around her and she knew she was no longer a child. Her body felt bigger and she could remember everything.

She stood for a minute before wrapping the blanket more tightly around herself and giving the others a small smile.

Clint looked worried and she smiled directly at him. "I'm alright." He nodded, swallowing slightly.

She looked at them all and laughed a little. It had been a very good time. "Thank you, Doctor."

He gave her a quick look over, frowning as though he wanted to say something and she had the distinct impression he wanted to give her a check up. She hurried to her room and dressed before returning. Everyone had moved from the kitchen doorway to the living room.

She came back into the room and took a seat. "I'm fine." They were all looking at her with worry.

"Natasha, how much do you remember?" Steve asked.

She smiled a little. "I remember everything. You all were very kind to me."

"Well there wasn't much else we could be." Tony said with a laugh.

"And you were great to have." Steve added.

She laughed a little. "I mean it. You were all so kind to me. I really appreciate it."

The next few days were a little awkward. Natasha took the things she had collected as a child and removed them from the guest room she had been staying in. She put them on her dresser and then told Tony to donate the childrens clothes he had bought for her.

Things seemed to return to normal after that. Tony taunted her with a few pictures of her doing childish things and she pretended to be annoyed but was actually very glad the pictures existed.

It wasn't until three days later that anything really surprising happened. Normally Natasha and Steve took their morning runs before the paper was delivered, even if they didn't necessarily do them together.

It had begun raining that morning and Natasha returned from her run a bit early. Tony was clanking away down in his lab and she was the only one up. Taking the morning paper in she sat at the breakfast table and unfolded it. It was an unusual feat to be the first one to read it. Usually at least one section was missing. She flipped through it, immediately passing the gossip section and then doing a double take.

Mystery Girl, Secret Love Child of Tony Stark?

The article featured a picture of her in black and white, trailing alongside Tony and Pepper.

A little girl has been spotted out in public with billionaire Tony Stark and his girlfriend Pepper Potts. It is unclear weather this is the child of Mr. Stark and Miss Potts or if she is the child of another lady friend. Mr. Stark has been know to have quite a few of those and what the public wants to know is, has one of his torrid one night stands resulted in a red haired daughter? The trio were seen out at an upscale restaurant where Mr. Stark was pulled away from his dinner by a bank robbery. After they finished their lunch they left together and returned to the famous, Avengers Tower where Mr. Stark resides with several other superheroes. With that in mind, there could be the chance that the girl is the daughter of fellow Avenger Black Widow? The two have similar hair color and Mr. Stark and his team mate do live withing very close proximity. Cont-pg 8.

Natasha stared at the paper with a mix of good humor and incredulity. The tabloids were so ridiculous. Quickly she took the section and threw it in the trash, hoping no one would see it. Clint and Tony would have a field day.

Hurriedly she finished her breakfast and made busy reading the local section. The last thing she needed was anyone thinking she looked suspicious.

Bruce, Clint and Thor filtered in and eventually Steve returned, having apparently stuck it out in the rain. It wasn't until Tony dragged himself away from the robots that her cover was blown. "Morning everyone." He yawned. "Thor, Cap, Bruce, Clint. Daughter."

She put her head in his hands. "Oh no."

"Is that any way to talk to your father?" He asked in a falsely stern voice, grinning all the while.

"How did you find out?" She asked without looking up.

He waved his phone. "Got the paper on app. Oh JARVIS, where's the gossip section to today's paper?"

"I believe Miss Romanoff put it in the trash can."

Tony grinned, immensely pleased with himself and fished the paper out, throwing it down on the table so that the rest of the room could see.

Natasha groaned and buried her head in her arms.


End file.
